Stamford Health achieved national accreditation in bariatric services from the Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery Accreditation & Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP), a joint program of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS). The Stamford Health Center for Surgical Weight Loss met essential criteria for staffing, training and facility infrastructure including protocols to implement best-in-class care. This accreditation signifies that the program meets the highest standards for patient safety and quality of care in lower Fairfield County.
“We are extremely pleased to be recognized by the MBSAQIP for our commitment to ongoing quality improvement and patient safety,” said James Bonheur, MD, Director, Bariatric Surgery, Stamford Health. “Being accredited acknowledges the hard work by our team and colleagues across our organization to meet the needs of our patients through multidisciplinary, high-quality and patient-centered care.”
The surgical weight loss center also participates in a national data registry that yields semiannual reports on the quality of its processes and outcomes, identifying opportunities for continuous quality improvement. The MBSAQIP accreditation represents the highest level that can be awarded to an organization for bariatric care and validates the program’s quality patient outcomes, comprehensive care and patient support throughout their continuum of care. Working with ASMBS, the ACS expanded this quality program for bariatric surgery centers so that it can assist bariatric patients in identifying those centers that provide optimal surgical care.
According to the National Institute of Health, approximately 15.5 million people in the United States suffer from severe obesity and the numbers continue to increase. Morbidity and mortality in the obese population is higher than the non-obese, due to diseases and conditions that are commonly associated with it, such as type II diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease, among other health risks. Metabolic and bariatric surgical procedures have proven to be effective in the reduction of comorbid conditions related to severe obesity.*
You can learn more about Stamford Health’s bariatric services at https://www.stamfordhealth.org/care-treatment/bariatric-surgery/.
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*Buchwald H, Avidor Y, Braunwald E, et al. Bariatric Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA. 2004;292(14):1724-1737. DOI:10.1001/jama.292.14.1724.