Silver Cross Hospital's Weight-Loss Surgery Program Achieves National Accreditation

Silver Cross Hospital’s bariatric surgery program has received national accreditation as a Comprehensive Center 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 accreditation provides patients who are seeking surgical treatment for severe obesity and its related conditions with a high-quality choice for receiving treatment at a nationally accredited program that meets the highest standards for patient safety and quality of care in the greater South Cook and Will Counties.

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“We are thrilled to have our program receive a national accreditation from highly-respected organizations such as ACS and ASMBS,” said Dr. Christopher Joyce, medical director of Silver Cross Hospital’s bariatric surgery program and BMI Surgery.

The MBSAQIP Standards, outlined in the Resources for Optimal Care of the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Patient 2014, ensure that bariatric surgical patients receive a multidisciplinary program, not just a surgical procedure, which improves patient outcomes and long-term success.

The accredited center offers preoperative and postoperative care designed specifically for their severely obese patients.

“Due to the increasing prevalence of morbid obesity and its inherent risks and opportunities available to greatly improve the health of this patient population, we feel that it is important that individuals looking to lose weight and improve their health know they have chosen a safe and comprehensive surgical program,” said Dr. Joyce.

Silver Cross Hospital’s commitment to quality care begins with appropriately trained staff and the leadership surgeons who participate in meetings throughout the year to review its outcomes. They seek continuous improvement to enhance the structure, process and outcomes of the center.

To earn the MBSAQIP designation, Silver Cross Hospital 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 semiannual reports on the quality of its processes and outcomes, identifying opportunities for continuous quality improvement. The standards are specified in the MBSAQIP Resources for Optimal Care of the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Patient 2014, published by the ACS and ASMBS.

After submitting an application, centers seeking MBSAQIP Accreditation undergo an extensive site visit by an experienced bariatric surgeon, who reviews the center’s structure, process, and clinical outcomes data. Centers are awarded a specific designation depending on how many patients it serves annually, the type of procedures it provides, and whether it provides care for patients under age 18.

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In the United States, around 15.5 million people suffer from severe obesity, according to the National Institutes of Health, and the numbers continue to increase. Obesity increases the risks of morbidity and mortality because of the diseases and conditions that are commonly associated with it, such as type II diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease, among other health risks. Metabolic and bariatric surgical procedures have proven to be effective in the reduction of comorbid conditions related to severe obesity. Working with ASMBS, the ACS expanded this quality program for bariatric surgery centers so that it can assist bariatric patients in identifying those centers that provide optimal surgical care.

Over the last 12 years, Silver Cross Hospital and BMI Surgery have changed the lives of over 4,000 patients with life changing surgeries including laparoscopic gastric bypass, laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, and Lap-Band and REALIZE gastric band systems at Silver Cross Hospital. Board certified laparoscopic and bariatric surgeons Brian Lahmann, M.D.,and Christopher Joyce, M.D., are dedicated to helping patients win their personal battles with obesity and enjoy healthier lives. Their office is located on the Silver Cross Hospital campus at I-355 and Route 6 in New Lenox.

To find out more about the bariatric surgery program at Silver Cross Hospital, attend a free informational session on both traditional and laparoscopic surgery on any Wednesday at

5:45 p.m. at BMI Surgery at 1890 Silver Cross Blvd., Suite 260, New Lenox.

To attend, visit www.bmisurgery.org or call 1-888-660-HEAL (4325).