<Orange, CA> – Providence St. Joseph Hospital is once again recognized as a Blue Distinction® Centers for Bariatric Surgery designation, as part of the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program. Blue Distinction Centers, as recognized by Blue Shield of California, are nationally designated healthcare facilities that show a commitment to delivering high quality patient safety and better health outcomes, based on objective measures that were developed with input from the medical community and leading accreditation and quality organizations.
The Bariatric Surgery Program at St. Joseph Hospital takes a holistic approach to care that encompasses total wellness — body, mind and spirit. We provide physical, nutritional, emotional and spiritual care before, during and after each patient’s bariatric surgery to support their long-term success. To date, our experienced bariatric surgeons have performed nearly 3,500 bariatric procedures, and work with a multidisciplinary team to help our patients achieve long-term weight loss success.
To receive a Blue Distinction Centers for Bariatric Surgery designation, our program demonstrated success in meeting patient safety measures as well as bariatric-specific quality measures, including complication and readmission rate for laparoscopic procedures in sleeve gastrectomy, gastric bypass, and adjustable gastric band. Designated facilities must also be nationally accredited at both the facility and bariatric program-specific levels.
Bariatric surgery is among the most common elective surgeries in the U.S. — with more than 252,000 bariatric surgeries performed in 2018 based on a report from the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. With obesity reaching epidemic levels among U.S. adults, a significant opportunity exists to improve quality care for bariatric surgeries within the national healthcare system.
Bariatric surgery is the most effective treatment for severely obese patients because it allows for substantial, sustained weight loss, which leads to, improves, or resolves obesity-related co-morbidities like type 2 diabetes. On average, healthcare costs were reduced by 29 percent within five years following bariatric surgery, due to the reduction or elimination of obesity-related conditions, based on findings by ASMBS.
Bariatric surgeons at Providence St. Joseph Hospital
