- Healthgrades 5-Star Bariatrics Surgery Recipient
- Healthgrade 5-Star Excellence Award TM
- Center of Excellence from the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery
Healthgrades Gives Good Samaritan Hospital’s Bariatric Surgery Program Five Star Rating
Good Samaritan Hospital is the only nationally-recognized bariatric surgery center in Rockland County
From Good Samaritan Hospital: The Surgical Weight Loss Institute at Good Samaritan Hospital, which is the only nationally accredited bariatric surgery center in Rockland County, has received a Five-Star Rating from Healthgrades and is among the top 10 percent in the nation, according to this year’s evaluation from Healthgrades, the leading online resource helping consumers make informed decisions to find the right doctor and the right hospital for the right care.
“We are proud to receive this recognition from such a prestigious organization like Healthgrades,” said Ramon Rivera, M.D., Bariatric Director of Good Samaritan Hospital’s Weight Loss Surgical Institute. “This award validates our center’s commitment to quality patient care, and the contributions of all hospital staff members in making the designation possible.”
The Surgical Weight Loss Institute is accredited by 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); there are 720 accredited centers in the U.S. and 52 are located in New York State. The MBSAQIP standards ensure that bariatric surgery patients are offered a multidisciplinary program, not just a surgical procedure, which improves patient outcomes and long-term success. Research has shown that mortality in patients operated on in centers that are not nationally accredited is double those that are accredited.
Each year, Healthgrades evaluates the performance of those hospitals performing bariatric surgery by measuring risk-adjusted in-patient complication rates. Healthgrades then identifies the top 10 percent of those evaluated, and recognizes them as recipients of the Healthgrades Bariatric Surgery Excellence Award. Additionally, the award recognizes the top five percent of bariatric surgery programs in the nation as measured by volume-weighted performance.
Healthgrades is the leading online resource for comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals. Each year, the company evaluateshospital performance at nearly 4,500 hospitals nationwide for 32 conditions and procedures based on MedPAR outcomes data (from Medicare and Medicaid services), and for two procedures (appendectomy and bariatric surgery) based on all-payer data provided by 18 states representing more than half of the U.S. population.
These findings are featured in Healthgrades 2017 Report to the Nation. The new report demonstrates how clinical performance continues to differ dramatically between hospitals regionally and nationally. For patients, there are significant benefits to selecting hospitals that have achieved this recognition.
“Consumers have many choices regarding where to receive their healthcare, which is why it’s so vital that they understand outcomes performance at specific hospitals for specific conditions and procedures,” said Evan Marks, Chief Strategy Officer, Healthgrades. “Those hospitals that have achieved a specialty excellence distinction in Bariatric Surgery from Healthgrades exemplify a commitment to exceptional quality of patient care.”
The Surgical Weight Loss Institute was launched at Bon Secours Community Hospital in Port Jervis in 2003 and then expanded to Good Samaritan Hospital in 2005. Since then, and between the two hospitals, the program has performed over 7,250 cases to date. Last year, 427 cases were performed at Good Samaritan Hospital and 418 were performed at Bon Secours Community Hospital.
The Surgical Weight Loss Institute provides a highly individualized, positive approach to weight-loss success. Dedicated to compassionate, competent and professional care of the severely obese, it offers comprehensive preoperative assessment and preparation, excellent surgical care and lifelong postoperative care and support. The highly-skilled surgeons specialize in a range of surgical weight-loss techniques, primarily sleeve gastrectomy, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and in some cases the Lap-Band.
Good Samaritan Hospital has also been recognized for the following clinical achievements in 2017:
- Five-Star Recipient for Peripheral Vascular Bypass in 2017
- Five-Star Recipient for Treatment of Sepsis for 7 Years in a Row (2011-2017)
- Recipient of the Healthgrades 2016 Labor and Delivery Excellence Award™
- Recognized by Healthgrades in 2016 for Superior Performance in Labor and Delivery
- Among the Top 10% of Hospitals Evaluated for Labor and Delivery in 2016
- Five-Star Recipient for Vaginal Delivery for 2 Years in a Row (2015-2016)
To view the complete Healthgrades 2017 Report to the Nation, including full methodology, click https://www.healthgrades.com/quality/ratings-awards/reports/annual-report-to-the-nation
For more information on the Bariatric Surgery program at Good Samaritan Hospital, call 845-368-5285.
About Good Samaritan Hospital, a Member of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network
Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, New York, is a 286-bed hospital providing emergency, medical, surgical, obstetrical/gynecological and acute care services to residents of Rockland and southern Orange Counties in New York; and northern Bergen County, New Jersey.
The hospital is home to a recognized cardiovascular program, comprehensive cancer treatment services, the area’s leading Wound and Hyperbaric Institute and outstanding maternal/child services that includes a Children’s Diagnostic Center. Good Samaritan Hospital also provides social, psychiatric and substance abuse services and its certified home care agency supports residents of the Hudson Valley and beyond. For more information about Good Samaritan Hospital visit bschs.bonsecours.com or follow the hospital at Facebook.com/BonSecoursCharityHealthSystem or Twitter.com/BSCHS
Photos courtesy of GSH (The GSH Bariatric Surgery team includes (standing l-r): Trish O’Sullivan, Med-Surge Nurse; Diane Wilcomes, Director of PeriOp; Ahmed Assas, Anesthesiologist; Dr. Ramon Rivera, Bariatric Medical Director; Dr. Wayne Weiss, Bariatric Surgeon; Nubia Cwalinski, OR Tech; Maria Scaffidi, Bariatric Coordinator; Helen Mangan, OR Bariatric Nurse; Margaret Damiani, PACU Nurse; Susan Epstein, Bariatric Dietitian; and (seated: l-r): Carole Brown, Same Day Surgery Nurse; Elizabeth Heim-Bell, OR Nurse Manager; and Linda Matacchiera, Surgical Scheduler Peri op Services)
Bariatric Surgery Program at Good Samaritan Hospital and BonSecours Community Hospital Receives Five-Star Rating from Healthgrades
January 13, 2017
Bariatric Surgery Program at Good Samaritan Hospital and Bon Secours Community Hospital Receives Five-Star Rating from Healthgrades
The Surgical Weight Loss Institute at Good Samaritan Hospital (GSH) and Bon Secours Community Hospital (BSCH) has received a Five-Star Rating from Healthgrades. Consumers use Healthgrades as an online resource to help find the right doctor and the right hospital for the right care.
“We are proud to receive this recognition from such a prestigious organization like Healthgrades,” said Ramon Rivera, M.D., Bariatric Director of Good Samaritan Hospital’s Weight Loss Surgical Institute.
“This award affirms our center’s commitment to quality patient care and the contributions of all hospital staff members in making the designation possible,” said Jaime Cepeda, M.D., Medical Director of Bon Secours Community Hospital’s Weight Loss Surgical Institute.
The Surgical Weight Loss Institute is accredited by 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); there are 720 accredited centers in the U.S. and 52 are located in New YorkState. Research has shown that mortality in patients operated on in centers that are not nationally accredited is double those that are accredited.
Each year, Healthgrades evaluates the performance of those hospitals performing bariatric surgery by measuring risk-adjusted in-patient complication rates. Healthgrades then identifies the top 10 percent of those evaluated, and recognizes them as recipients of the Healthgrades Bariatric Surgery Excellence Award.
The Surgical Weight Loss Institute was launched by Peter Kwon, M.D., Medical Director of the SWLI at BSCH in 2003 and then expanded to GSH in 2005. Since then, and between the two hospitals, the program has performed over 7,250 cases to date. Last year, 427 cases were performed at GSH and 418 were performed at BSCH.
The Surgical Weight Loss Institute provides a highly individualized, approach to weight-loss success and offers comprehensive preoperative assessment and preparation, excellent surgical care and lifelong postoperative care and support.
The highly-skilled surgeons specialize in a range of surgical weight-loss techniques, primarily sleeve gastrectomy, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and in some cases the Lap-Band. At BSCH, the new Olympus’ Visera 4K Ultra High-Definition Imaging System, along with the ENDOEYE FLEX 3D SCOPE, is used to offer accurate vision into the surgical site.
For more information, call 845-368-5285 (GSH) or 845-858-7277 (BSCH).
The Bariatric Surgery team at BSCH (l-r): Lisa Cullinan-Peters, RN, Pre-OP; Diana Rozyla-Rieg, Surgical Technician; Colleen Henderson, RN, OR; James Levinsohn, M.D., Anesthesiologist; Peter Kwon, M.D., SWLI Administrator /Bariatric Surgeon; Jaime Cepeda, M.D., Chief of Surgery/Metabolic Bariatric Surgical Director; Tracy Drasher, RN, Recovery Room; Cynthia Marsilio, RN, MSN, ANP, MBSCR, Bariatric Program Director for BSCH and GSH; Connie McGuire, NA, Bariatric Care Partner; and Cathy Coughlin-Phraner, RN, MSHCA, CNOR, CASC, Surgical Services Nurse Manager
The Bariatric Surgery team at GSH includes (standing l-r): Trish O’Sullivan, Med-Surge Nurse; Diane Wilcomes, Director of PeriOp; Ahmed Assas, Anesthesiologist; Dr. Ramon Rivera, Bariatric Medical Director; Dr. Wayne Weiss, Bariatric Surgeon; Nubia Cwalinski, OR Tech; Maria Scaffidi, Bariatric Coordinator; Helen Mangan, OR Bariatric Nurse; Margaret Damiani, PACU Nurse; Susan Epstein, Bariatric Dietitian; and (seated: l-r): Carole Brown, Same Day Surgery Nurse; Elizabeth Heim-Bell, OR Nurse Manager; and Linda Matacchiera, Surgical Scheduler Peri op Services
Surgical Weight Loss Institute
The Surgical Weight Loss Institute is dedicated to compassionate, competent, and professional care of the severely obese in the Tri-State Area and the Hudson Valley.We offer comprehensive pre-operative assessment and preparation, excellent surgical care, and life-long post-operative care and support.
We continually seek to improve our services to maximize your long-term success.
At Bon Secours Community Hospital and Good Samaritan Hospital, we offer the laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, the laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, and Lap-Band® surgeries. Please see the contact us link for more details on these two locations.
Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence
As bariatric surgery volume increased dramatically, particularly after the development of laparoscopic techniques to perform these complex operations, the American Society for Bariatric Surgery (ASBS), as it was known then, initiated the Center of Excellence program in 2005 to establish clinical guidelines and standards of excellence for surgeons and hospitals in its professional obligation to improve patient safety. Bon Secours Community Hospital was the second hospital in the state of New York to be designated a Center of Excellence, on November 11, 2005. Good Samaritan Hospital received its designation on March 25, 2008.
The American College of Surgeons subsequently created their own program to designate Centers of Excellence.
The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) decided to join with the American College of Surgeons (ACS) to create a new program, named Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program, or MBSAQIP.
Both Bon Secours Community Hospital and Good Samaritan Hospital are currently accredited by the MBSAQIP. The standards established by the ASMBS and the ACS are very high and are designed to maximize outcomes while minimizing risks for patients.
St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital is actively seeking accreditation at this time.
The new requirements are very specific in the following areas:
- Volume of surgeries, proper patient selection, proper choice of procedures
- Institutional and Program commitment to quality of care
- Appropriate equipment and instruments throughout the hospital and the Operating Room
- Critical Care Support
- Continuum of care, including patient education, preparation, pre-operative care, post-operative care preferably in a dedicated unit, and long term outpatient follow-up
- Data collection
- Continuous quality improvement
We at the Surgical Weight Loss Institute at Bon Secours Charity Health Systems meet or exceed all of the standards established by the American College of Surgeons and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.