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 “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.
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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] |
