Emory Bariatrics Program Receives Level 1 Accreditation from American College of Surgeons

The Emory Bariatric Center at Emory Crawford Long Hospital has been accredited as a Level 1 Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence by the Bariatric Surgery Center Network (BSCN) Accreditation Program of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). Established by the ACS, the BSCN Accreditation Program provides confirmation that a bariatric surgery center has demonstrated commitment to providing the highest quality care for its bariatric surgery patients.

"The American College of Surgeons accreditation is the most rigorous of its kind, and receiving this endorsement is an incredible achievement to be shared and celebrated by our team," says Edward Lin, MD, surgical director of the Emory Bariatrics Center. "We absolutely recognize morbid obesity as a serious disease that compromises quality of life and greatly increases the risk of mortality. This program approaches bariatric surgery from a complete interdisciplinary approach, with input from a wide array of experts who provide in-depth medical care, education, behavior modifications, psychological counseling and support before, during and after the surgery."

As part of the two-year accreditation process, hospitals undergo an on-site verification by experienced bariatric surgeons, who review the center's structure, process and quality of data using the current ACS Bariatric Surgery Center Network Accreditation Program Manual as a guideline in conducting the survey. Because high-quality surgical care requires documentation using reliable measurements of outcomes, accredited bariatric surgery centers are required to report their bariatric surgery outcomes data either to the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) or the College's BSCN Database, using a Web-based data entry system.

John Sweeney, MD, associate professor of surgery and chief of the division of general and GI surgery at Emory, notes that more than 11 million people suffer from severe obesity, and the numbers continue to increase, leading to a wide range of long term health problems.

"Obesity contributes to increased risk of type II diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, cancer and musculoskeletal disorders, among other health risks," he says. "While diet and exercise are essential to healthy weight loss, morbid obesity often requires supplementary treatment such as bariatric surgery. This accreditation can now assure patients they will have access to the very best level of care and follow-up at Emory."

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