Ministry Saint Joseph’s Hospital achieves national accreditation from the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program
[Marshfield, WI): Patients seeking surgical treatment for severe obesity and its related conditions have a high-quality choice for receiving treatment at a nationally accredited program that meets the highest standards for patient safety and quality of care in central Wisconsin.
Ministry Saint Joseph’s Hospital’s bariatric surgical center has 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 (ACS) and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS).
The MBSAQIP Standards, outlined in the Resources for Optimal Care of the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Patient 2014 ensure that bariatric surgical patients receive a multidisciplinary program, not just a surgical procedure, which improves patient outcomes and long-term success. The accredited center offers preoperative and postoperative care designed specifically for their severely obese patients.
“Our commitment to quality care begins with appropriately trained staff and the leadership of our surgeons who participate in meetings throughout the year to review its outcomes,” said Peter Stamas Jr., M.D., Vice President of Medical Affairs at Ministry Saint Joseph’s. “They seek continuous improvement to enhance the structure, process and outcomes of the center.”
To earn the MBSAQIP designation, Ministry Saint Joseph’s met essential criteria for staffing, training and facility infrastructure and protocols for care, ensuring its ability to support patients with severe obesity. The center also participates in a national data registry that yields semiannual reports on the quality of its processes and outcomes, identifying opportunities for continuous quality improvement. The standards are specified in the MBSAQIP Resources for Optimal Care of the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Patient 2014, published by the ACS and ASMBS.
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. Centers are awarded a specific designation depending on how many patients it serves annually, the type of procedures it provides, and whether it provides care for patients under age 18.
As the result of the on-site survey, Marshfield Clinic Bariatric Surgeons on staff at Ministry Saint Joseph’s Vijaya Nirujogi, MBBS, FACS, and Julio Bird, MD, earned the distinction of MBSAQIP verified surgeons. Dr. Nirujogi serves as medical director for the program which has been accredited since 2010. Ministry Saint Joseph’s is one of just ten hospitals in Wisconsin to earn accreditation as a Comprehensive Center.
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.
Working with ASMBS, the ACS expanded this quality program for bariatric surgery centers so that it can assist bariatric patients in identifying those centers that provide optimal surgical care.
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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.
About Ministry Health Care
Ministry Health Care (ministryhealth.org) is an integrated healthcare delivery network serving more than 1.1 million people across Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota. Ministry generates nearly $2.2 billion in annual operating revenue with 15 hospitals, 46 clinics and 10,000 associates, including 700 physicians and advanced practice clinicians. In 2013, Ministry Health Care joined Ascension, the largest Catholic and not-for-profit healthcare system in the nation. In that same year, Ministry became part of Integrated Health Network (IHN), which represents more than 5,000 physicians, 500 clinics and 42 hospitals in northern, central and eastern Wisconsin. IHN was created to improve the quality, efficiency and value of healthcare services in the markets served by its members.
Ministry is ranked among the top 20 percent of healthcare systems in the country according to Truven Health Analytics, and five Ministry hospitals are ranked in the top 10 in the state in Medicare’s Hospital Value Based Purchasing (VBP) program. Network Health, co-owned by Ministry Health Care and Froedtert Health, has received 4½-star recognition by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for its Medicare Advantage plans.
About Ascension
Ascension (ascension.org) is a faith-based healthcare organization dedicated to transformation through innovation across the continuum of care. As the largest non-profit health system in the U.S. and the world’s largest Catholic health system, Ascension is committed to delivering compassionate, personalized care to all, with special attention to persons living in poverty and those most vulnerable. In FY2015, Ascension provided nearly $2 billion in care of persons living in poverty and other community benefit programs. Approximately 160,000 associates and 36,000 aligned providers serve in 2,500 sites of care – including 141 hospitals and more than 30 senior living facilities – in 24 states and the District of Columbia. In addition to healthcare delivery, Ascension subsidiaries provide a variety of services and solutions including physician practice management, venture capital investing, investment management, biomedical engineering, clinical care management, information services, risk management, and contracting through Ascension’s own group purchasing organization.
About Ascension Wisconsin
Ascension Wisconsin includes Columbia St. Mary’s, Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare and Ministry Health Care (which includes Affinity Health System), with 27 hospitals and hundreds of sites of care across the state. Together, the health systems employ more than 24,000 associates and nearly 1,000 medical group physicians. In fiscal year 2015, the health systems that now comprise Ascension Wisconsin provided $300 million in community benefit and care of persons living in poverty.
