04/26/2021

Wentworth-Douglass Hospital Honored for High Quality Weight-Loss Surgery

Wentworth-Douglass Hospital has been recognized with a nationally-designated distinction for its high quality weight-loss surgical program.

The hospital has been named a Blue Distinction® Center for Bariatric Surgery by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in New Hampshire. The honor is bestowed on 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.

Wentworth-Douglass’ program provides a full range of bariatric surgery care, including post-operative care, outpatient follow-up care, and patient education.

“We are humbled and appreciative of this honor, but not surprised. This Blue Distinction echoes Wentworth-Douglass Hospital’s commitment to quality of care and clinical excellence. Our Center for Weight Management & Bariatric Surgery uses the latest, most innovative surgical technology available. We provide support to patients during their entire surgical journey – and beyond, and offer patients access to a multidisciplinary team to help ensure their positive outcomes. This accreditation also makes life-changing weight loss surgery more accessible to patients seeking care here by our world-class surgeons,” said Interim President & CEO, Jeffrey Hughes, MPH, FACHE.

Bariatric surgeries are 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 (ASMBS).¹ Furthermore, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that nearly 42.7 percent of U.S. adults and 18.5 percent of youth are obese and are impacted by obesity-related health conditions.² 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.

The annual healthcare spend on obesity and obesity-related conditions is expected to rise by 2030, if the rate of obesity in the U.S. continues to climb.³ 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.

To receive a Blue Distinction Centers for Bariatric Surgery designation, a healthcare facility must demonstrate 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. All designated facilities must also be nationally accredited at both the facility and bariatric program-specific levels.

“Improving the care experience to provide better health outcomes for our members is at the core of our mission at Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield,” said Lisa Guertin, president of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in New Hampshire. “We congratulate Wentworth-Douglass Hospital for achieving this designation in bariatric surgery and are proud to work with them to help individuals in the Greater Seacoast area improve their health.”

Since 2006, the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program has helped patients find quality specialty care in the areas of bariatric surgery, cancer care, cardiac care, cellular immunotherapy, fertility care, gene therapy, knee and hip replacement, maternity care, spine surgery, substance use treatment and recovery, and transplants, while encouraging healthcare professionals to improve the care they deliver. Research shows that, compared to other healthcare facilities, those designated as Blue Distinction Centers demonstrate better quality and improved outcomes for patients.

For more information about the program and for a complete listing of designated facilities, visit www.bcbs.com/bluedistinction.

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All companies and trademarks listed above are the property of their respective owners and used for identification purposes
only, and are in no way associated or affiliated with the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Use of these trademarks does not imply endorsement. The Blue Cross® and Blue Shield® names and symbols and Blue Distinction® are registered trademarks of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.

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American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) https://www.soard.org/article/S1550-7289(19)31160-8/fulltext#:~:text=previous%202%20years

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html#:~:text=Prevalence%20of%20Childhood%20Obesity%20in%20the%20United%20States&text=The%20prevalence%20of%20obesity%20was,to%2019%2Dyear%2Dolds.

3 Wang, Y. C., McPherson, K., Marsh, T., Gortmaker, S. L., & Brown, M. (2011). Health and economic burden of the projected obesity trends in the USA and the UK. Lancet (London, England), 378(9793), 815–825. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60814-3