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Upstate's bariatric surgery program honored for excellence

SYRACUSE, N.Y.--Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse has been named among the top hospitals in the nation for bariatric surgery, receiving a 5-star rating in a recent report by HealthGrades, a leading national independent source of physician information and quality outcomes.

Upstate University Hospital was one of only 48 hospitals to receive a HealthGrades 2012 Bariatric Surgery Excellence Award. The honor is based on weight loss procedures delivered between 2008 and 2010.

For its report, “Choosing Bariatric Surgery to Improve Overall Health: 2012 HealthGrades Trend Report,” HealthGrades analyzed 201,821 bariatric surgery patient records from 478 hospitals in 19 states where the data is publicly available. HealthGrades found patients were 72 percent less likely to experience in-hospital complications and on average spent half a day less at 5-star hospitals than at 1-star hospitals. Visit HealthGrades for the full report.

“This recognition and other recent accolades confirm Upstate’s status as a leader in bariatric surgery,” said Howard Simon, MD, director of Upstate’s Bariatric Surgery Center. “Such recognition is a reflection of our talented medical team--surgeons, nurses, dieticians, counselors--and our primary focus on improving the lives of the patients we see every day.”

In addition to causing significant long-term weight loss, bariatric surgery has been shown to reverse common complications of obesity, including type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, and cardiovascular silent killers like high cholesterol and high blood pressure. These benefits improve patients’ quality of life and overall health, and reduce their risk of heart disease, stroke, and early death. Bariatric surgery may also reduce future healthcare costs.

Upstate’s Bariatric Surgery Center remains the only center of its kind to have earned accreditation as a Level 1A center by the American College of Surgeons’ Bariatric Surgery Network. Upstate’s center received the highest accreditation level possible, Level 1A, signifying that the hospital’s high volume practice can “manage the most challenging and complex patients.” Upstate was recognized by HealthGrades last year as well, winning the 2011 Bariatric Surgery Excellence Award.

The Upstate center is on pace to perform more than 500 bariatric surgery procedures this year. Surgical options include laparoscopic adjustable gastric-banding and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, gastric sleeve resection.

Upstate performs bariatric surgery at both its Downtown and Community campuses. As of Aug. 3, Bariatric Surgery Center physician offices will be located on Upstate’s Community Campus, at the Physician’s Office Building, Suite 2B. For more information on Upstate bariatric services, call at 315-492-5036 or 1-866-349-4592 or visit Upstate Bariatric Surgery.

Caption: Nurse practitioners Maria Lumbrazo and Marcy Walser, in the Upstate Bariatric Surgery center's new location, Upstate's Community Campus at 4900 Broad Road.

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