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Center of Excellence

What is Center of Excellence (COE), and why is it so important?  By choosing a Center of Excellence Facility, you've chosen a Weight Loss Surgery Center that's held to a higher standard of patient care and patient outcomes than other facilities.  Consider the following COE requirments that we gladly follow to insure that your weight loss surgery experience is a postive one:

 

• A facility should insure that anyone coming in contact with our patients has specialized training in Bariatric Sensitivity.  At Georgetown, all Clinical personnel take additional training in the needs of our patients, and the nurses and nursing assistants that take care of you while you are here have even more ongoing training.  Some have also become Certified Bariatric Nurses.

 

• COE requirements state that a facility should do a minimum of 125 weight loss surgeries per year to insure better long-term results.  Our facility averages 500 weight loss surgeries per year, and has performed over 4500 since our program began in 2000.

 

• The bariatric surgery program must have an active Bariatric Medical Director who takes part in the decisions regarding patient care.  Dr. Sonnanstine is extremely active as administrative and medical leader, and follows a Multidisciplinary team approach to making decisions impacting our Pragram and Bariatric care.

 

• The hospital must have a full complement of staff within 30 minutes of the facility.  This means that your surgeon and consultative services must be able to be at the facility within 30-minutes of an emergent care issue regarding a patient. 

 

• The hospital must have equipment, instruments, beds, wheelchairs, radiologic capabilities, etc., that are suitable for the bariatric population.  Georgetown has spent millions of dollars updating equipment, purchasing safe and secure furniture, building a brand new O.R. suite and remodeling one wing of our facility specifically for Bariatric patients.

 

• The surgeon should spend a significant portion of his practice in Bariatric Surgery, and have qualified coverage and support.  Dr. Sonnanstine devotes most of his practice to weight loss surgery.

 

• Clinical Pathways must be in place to insure standardized care for patients.  Georgetown patients all follow the same path to and beyond surgery.  That path includes extensive education, lifestyle preparation, nutrition and psychological components and required pre-op testing; as well as standardized surgical methods, hospital and outpatient post-operative care and follow-up.

 

• There should be designated physician extenders who are dedicated to the patients and are involved in continuing education.  Georgetown's Bariatric Team includes a Physician Assistant, Behavioral Health Specialist, Nurses, Dietitians, Exercise Physiologist/Personal Trainer, and other employees who provide extensive pre-operative assessment and education, and take part in patient follow-up and the continuing education process.  We offer monthly support groups (see below), online support, and educational classes that include exercise and cooking demonastrations!

 

• The hospital and surgeons should work together in the long-term follow-up care of the patients.  We work hard to stay in contact with our patients in a variety of ways so they can reach and maintain their goals.  Patients are seen individually by both the Dietitian and Behavioral Health Specialist at routine post-operative follow-up appointments in the first year, and as needed.  We have both individual and group Bariatric Counseling services available (see below).  We also believe in ongoing communication; we send out regular e-newsletters and announcements, provide opportunities for patient social gatherings, and make personal contact when a patient hasn't been in for a long period of time.

 

You should also consider your follow-up care when choosing a weight loss center.  At Georgetown Community Hospital, Dr. Sonnanstine makes a committment to his patients to be there for them after surgery and beyond.  He delights in his patients' achievements and is often a their biggest cheerleader.  He sees all patients at each follow-up appointment and does all the gastric-band adjustments himself.

 

Of course, we hope that you will come to Georgetown Community Hospital for your weight loss surgery, but most importantly, we want you to know why choosing a Center of Excellence is the right decision. 

 

To read more about Dr. Tom Sonnanstine, click here.

 

To read more about Dr. Lisa West-Smith and our onsite counseling services, click here.

 

To read more about or Goal Getters Support Group, click here.

 

To read an entire article entitled "What Does it Really Take to be a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence", published with permission by WLS Lifestyles, click here.