Lodi Health receives bariatric surgery certification

Lodi Health recently announced that it has earned a certification as a Center of Excellence in Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.

According to Bariatric Coordinator Cynthia Wolcott, the certification was granted by the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program, a joint program of the American College of Surgeons and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.

She explained that the certification was basically a checkpoint to ensure that Lodi Health is providing the highest quality of care for bariatric surgery.

“This accreditation shows Lodi Health’s dedication and commitment to our patients and their families, from the initial planning stages of weight loss to educational opportunities and support groups afterward that lead to continued success,” Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Director Ruby Gatschet said in a press release from Lodi Health. “Our patients can be confident in our program’s ability to deliver consistent, effective and evidenced-based care with every surgery.”

Lodi Health has been providing bariatric procedures since the spring of 2014, but it wasn’t until now that they received their certification.

Wilcott said a hospital has to perform a number of bariatric cases in one year before they can apply for the certification. Lodi Health started the certification process approximately two years ago. They had to undergo an extensive site visit by an experienced bariatric surgeon, who reviewed the center's structure, process, and clinical outcomes data.

“A center of excellence certification differentiates the fact that you know we have increased quality improvement measures to protect the patient. It gives them a more complete program that involves a dietitian, follow-up care and support groups,” Wolcott said. “It treats the patient as whole. It gives you more. It is not just the surgery and then go on your merry way. We follow the patients for three years post surgery.”

Procedures offered through the program include gastric bypass and a vertical sleeve.

Because Lodi Health is now certified, those who would normally have to travel to other hospitals to receive a bariatric procedure can now receive it in their hometown. She explains that some insurances require that people have the procedure done at a center of excellence.

“We have people who’ve waited until we received our certification and are now or in the process of going through the steps to have the surgery,” Wilcott said.