Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s Center for Healthy Weight and Nutrition recently achieved Adolescent Center accreditation by the joint American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) and Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP). This nationally accredited certification acknowledges Nationwide Children’s commitment to providing and supporting quality improvement and patient safety efforts for severely obese adolescent patients undergoing metabolic and bariatric surgery. Nationwide Children’s is the first free-standing adolescent center in the country to achieve this important certification.
The MBSAQIP Standards, outlined in the Resources for Optimal Care of the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Patient 2014 (www.facs.org/quality-programs/mbsaqip/standards) ensure that bariatric surgical patients receive care at institutions that demonstrate significant commitment to providing a safe environment for the treatment of the obese population, including the use of a multidisciplinary care model designed to improve patient outcomes and long-term success following bariatric surgery.
“We are proud to receive this recognition that highlights our program’s commitment to quality and patient safety,” said Marc Michalsky, MD, surgical director for the Center for Healthy Weight and Nutrition. “Obesity increases the risk of morbidity and mortality as a result of diseases and conditions that are commonly associated with it, such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease, among other health-related risks. Through a multidisciplinary approach to bariatric surgery, our team is able to help severely obese teens achieve healthy weight status and reduce risk factors from numerous obesity-related conditions.”
To earn the MBSAQIP designation, Nationwide Children’s met essential criteria for staffing, training and facility infrastructure and defined clinical care protocols designed to ensure safe and effective surgical weight loss. As an MBSAQIP-designated adolescent center, Nationwide Children’s participates in a national data registry that yields semiannual risk-adjusted reports on the quality of its processes and long-term outcomes. In doing so, the center is able to identify important opportunities for continuous quality improvement and improved patient care.
After submitting an application, centers seeking MBSAQIP Accreditation undergo an extensive on-site review designed to examine the center’s overall structure, process, and clinical outcomes data. Centers are awarded a specific designation depending on how many patients it serves annually, the type of procedures it performs, and whether the center provides care for patients under the age of 18 years.
The MBSAQIP accreditation standards, represent a collaborative effort between ACS and ASMBS, and were fully implimented in early 2015. In addition to replacing previous bariatric surgrey accreditation standards, the new program provides a seperate designation for centers that provide care to adolescent patients (less than 18 years of age).
To learn more about Nationwide Children’s Bariatric Surgery program, visit nationwidechildrens.org/bariatric-surgery
Families who are interested in learning if bariatric surgery is an appropriate option can sign up for free online information sessions by visiting healthyweight.nationwidechildrens.org
About Nationwide Children’s Hospital
Ranked 9th of only 12 children's hospitals on U.S. News & World Report’s 2015-16 “America’s Best Children’s Hospitals Honor Roll,” Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit freestanding pediatric healthcare networks providing wellness, preventive, diagnostic, treatment and rehabilitative care for infants, children and adolescents, as well as adult patients with congenital disease. Nationwide Children’s has a medical staff of 1,100 and nearly 10,000 employees providing state-of-the-art pediatric care for one million patient visits annually. As home to the Department of Pediatrics of The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Nationwide Children’s physicians train the next generation of pediatricians and pediatric specialists. The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of the Top 10 National Institutes of Health-funded freestanding pediatric research facilities. Nationwide Children’s remains true to the original mission since its founding in 1892 of providing care regardless of a family’s ability to pay. More information is available at NationwideChildrens.org.
About the American College of Surgeons
The American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational association of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical education and practice and to improve the quality of care for the surgical patient. Its achievements have placed it at the forefront of American surgery and have made the College an important advocate for all surgical patients. The College has more than 80,000 members and is the largest organization of surgeons in the world.
About the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery
The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, founded in 1983, was formed to advance the art and science of metabolic and bariatric surgery by continually improving the quality and safety of care and treatment of people with obesity and related diseases through educational and support programs for surgeons and integrated health professionals.