Lifespan’s Center for Bariatric Surgery nationally ranked for safety, quality

Dr. Siva Vithiananthan
DR. SIVA VITHIANANTHAN is chief of minimally invasive and bariatric surgery for Lifespan's Center for Bariatric Surgery, which recently earned national re-accreditation. / COURTESY LIFESPAN

PROVIDENCE – By fulfilling the standards for patient safety and quality of care, the Center for Bariatric Surgery earned re-accreditation by the national board that evaluates medical centers specializing in surgery for severe obesity.

Dr. Siva Vithiananthan, chief of minimally invasive and bariatric surgery for the center, a program of Lifespan’s Miriam and Rhode Island hospitals, announced it had secured re-accreditation as a Comprehensive Center with Adolescent Qualifications by the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program, a joint program of the American College of Surgeons and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.  It was first accredited in 2014, Lifespan reported.

To be dually accredited for adults and adolescents, the center must meet standards that ensure bariatric surgical patients receive a multidisciplinary program that improves patient outcomes and long-term success through preoperative and postoperative care. Additionally, it must demonstrate that its staff is appropriately trained and its leadership surgeons participate in meetings throughout the year to review outcomes and improve care. The center also participates in a national data registry that semi-annually reports on the quality of its processes and outcomes.

While demand for bariatric surgery is not increasing nationally, Vithiananthan said in a statement that the center, based at The Miriam Hospital, continues to see steady growth, with the number of procedures increasing about 15 to 20 percent a year. Established in 2012 and initially accredited in 2014, the center expects to perform nearly 400 procedures this year. Vithiananthan noted the center is among just a few of the nation’s accredited programs that treats adolescents.

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“I think that [this re-accreditation] reflects the quality of the program and that it’s comprehensive. When patients come here, they are taken care of rather than … just [having] surgery. It’s collaborative and comprehensive care for the rest of their lives,” Vithiananthan said in the statement. “Obesity is a chronic disease. The long-term success is making sure they have support after the surgery. That’s what we do best.”

Nancy Kirsch is a PBN contributing writer.

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