Weight Loss Surgery and Weight Management Center at MetroHealth Achieves National Accreditation

The Weight Loss Surgery and Weight Management Center at MetroHealth has achieved the Comprehensive Center accreditation 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). This means that patients seeking surgical treatment for severe obesity and its related conditions have a high-quality choice at MetroHealth. This is the first time MetroHealth’s Bariatric Surgery Program has achieved this accreditation.

The MBSAQIP Standards ensure that bariatric surgical patients receive a multidisciplinary program, not just a surgical procedure, which improves patient outcomes and long-term success. The Center offers preoperative and postoperative care designed specifically for its severely obese patients.

“The efforts of our multidisciplinary team for the last three years have achieved outstanding results culminating in this accreditation. We are all committed to delivering compassionate and high quality care for our patients and their families in order to make our program their first and best choice,” said Sergio Bardaro, MD, Director of Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery.

“We are excited and proud to achieve this accreditation, an acknowledgement that we offer the highest quality metabolic and bariatric surgical care. Our bariatric surgical specialists are supported by a highly trained and dedicated team that works together to provide comprehensive, individualized care,” said Eileen Seeholzer, MD, the Center’s Medical Director.

MetroHealth's commitment to quality care begins with appropriately trained staff and the leadership of surgeons who participate in national meetings throughout the year and seek continuous improvement to enhance the structure, process and outcomes of the center. MetroHealth has an interdisciplinary team of bariatric surgeons, nurses, obesity medicine specialists, dietitians, pulmonologists, gastroenterologists, cardiologists, endocrinologists, plastic surgeons and clinical psychologists. The team includes seven medical providers who specialize in obesity medicine, as well as the STRIDES team, which offers an individualized behavioral program to optimize results. They create a personalized treatment plan, and patients' needs are addressed by offering both medical and surgical interventions.

For more than 15 years, the Weight Loss Surgery and Weight Management Center at MetroHealth has treated many patients with success. You can read a patient story here.

To earn the MBSAQIP designation, MetroHealth 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 semi-annual reports on the quality of its processes and outcomes, identifying opportunities for continuous quality improvement.

In addition to the interdisciplinary clinical team, the Center’s staff includes:

• Meghan Khebouz, RN, MSN – Bariatric Program Coordinator
• Elaine Mead - Center Director
• Jeffrey Claridge, MD - Bariatric Surgeon
• Sheila McGinty, Coordinator, Weight Management Program
• Mary Madal – Clinical Registrar
• Karen Yuhasz – Administrative Assistant
• Vicki Laganke, RD, LD, Bariatric Nutrition Specialist

Learn more about the Weight Loss Surgery and Weight Management Center at MetroHealth.