Memorial Medical Center’s Surgical Weight-Loss Program Receives National Recognition from Blue Cross

 

[April 29, 2019] 

Memorial Medical Center is the only hospital in downstate Illinois to be recognized as a Blue Distinction Center+ for Bariatric Surgery by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

“Our designation as a Blue Distinction Center serves as another validation of the excellent patient care provided by our bariatric services team,” Kimberly Paskiewicz, director of the Memorial Weight Loss and Wellness Center, said. “This recognition is further testament to the great work performed every day by our staff and our physician partners.”

Memorial Bariatric Services is part of the Memorial Weight Loss and Wellness Center at Memorial Medical Center in Springfield, which partners with Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital to offer bariatric, or weight-loss, surgery services to residents of Logan County and its surrounding communities.

Blue Distinction Center+ is a national designation given by Blue Cross and Blue Shield to hospitals and other healthcare facilities that have demonstrated expertise in delivering improved patient safety and better overall health results based on objective measures developed with input from the medical community. Those improved results include fewer medical complications, fewer readmissions and higher survival rates.

Illinois has 13 hospitals that have earned the Blue Distinction Center+ for Bariatric Surgery recognition. With the exception of Memorial, the remaining 12 are in the Chicago area.

Memorial Bariatric Services has performed over 2,000 bariatric surgical procedures since it was established in 2002. An estimated 300 bariatric surgeries are expected to be performed at Memorial Medical Center this year.

The Memorial Weight Loss and Wellness Center offers both surgical and nonsurgical weight loss options. In addition to Lincoln and Springfield, Memorial Bariatric Services has locations in Jacksonville, Decatur, Bloomington and Mattoon. Surgical procedures are performed at Memorial Medical Center while all pre-operative and post-operative care is offered at the patient’s home hospital. Memorial Bariatric Services offers five types of surgical options.

The surgeons who lead Memorial Bariatric Services are Dr. Orlando Icaza, medical director for Memorial Bariatric Services and a Springfield Clinic physician, and Dr. Adam Reid, assistant medical director for Memorial Bariatric Services and an SIU Medicine physician.

“Bariatric surgery is by far the most effective treatment for significant and durable weight loss for persons with severe obesity, but it requires comprehensive, expert care from an experienced team of surgeons and other medical professionals. Receiving this recognition communicates that we have this level of care in place,” Icaza said. “This designation reaffirms that we meet the highest standards of safety, effectiveness and sensitivity in the surgical treatment of severe, life-threatening obesity.”

For more information about Memorial Bariatric Services, call 217-788-3948 or toll-free at 866-205-7915 or visit MemorialWeightLossAndWellness Center.com.

[Michael Leathers, MHS]