Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center Achieves National Accreditation as a Comprehensive Center for Bariatric Surgery

Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center has again been accredited as a Comprehensive Center under the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP), a joint program of the American College of Surgeons and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. This accreditation signifies that Fort Sanders Regional’s Center for Bariatric Surgery meets the highest standards for patient safety and quality of care in the nation.

The MBSAQIP standards ensure that bariatric surgical patients receive a multidisciplinary program, not just a surgical procedure, which improves patient outcomes and long-term success. The Center for Bariatric Surgery offers preoperative and postoperative care designed specifically for the patient. Fort Sanders Regional also hosts weekly support groups to continue to help patients meet their weight loss goals.

To earn the MBSAQIP designation, Fort Sanders Regional met essential criteria for staffing, training and facility infrastructure and protocols for care, ensuring its ability to support patients with severe obesity. After submitting an application, centers seeking MBSAQIP accreditation undergo an extensive site visit by an experienced bariatric surgeon, who reviews the center’s structure, process, and clinical outcomes data.

Fort Sanders Regional’s Center for Bariatric Surgery is led by Mark Colquitt, MD, and Jonathan Ray, MD, board-certified surgeons with 25 years of combined experience and more than 2,200 bariatric surgeries. Their commitment to quality care begins with highly trained staff, including certified bariatric nurses, who participate in meetings throughout the year to review patient outcomes.  They seek continuous improvement to enhance the structure, process and outcomes.

In the United States, around 15.5 million people suffer from severe obesity, according to the National Institutes of Health, and the numbers continue to increase. Obesity increases the risks of morbidity and mortality because of the diseases and conditions that are commonly associated with it, such as type II diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease, among other health risks.

Fort Sanders Center for Bariatric Surgery offers free seminars and information about weight gain, and options for weight loss. For more information, visit www.fsregional. com/bariatrics, or call 865-331-BAR1