The Cooper Center for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery has been designated by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey as a Blue Distinction® Center for Bariatric Surgery as part of the Blue Distinction® Centers for Specialty Care Program. Blue Distinction Centers are nationally designated health care facilities shown to deliver quality specialty care, based on objective measures that were developed with input from the medical community, for patient safety and better health outcomes.
The Center also recently received designation from Aetna as an Institute of Quality® Bariatric Program for treating individuals living with morbid, or extreme, obesity. Aetna recognizes hospitals and facilities in its network that offer specialized clinical services for certain health conditions. Facilities are selected for consistently delivering evidence-based, safe care.
“Our program has helped hundreds of moms, dads, wives and husbands get their lives back,” said Rohit A. Patel, MD, Head of the Division of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery at Cooper. “These distinctions recognize the hard work of our entire team who works with each patient to make life-long positive change to their health.”
It is estimated that 72 million Americans are obese and 24 million suffer from morbid obesity, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The estimated annual health care costs of obesity-related illnesses are $190.2 billion, or nearly 21 percent of annual medical spending in the U.S., according to the Journal of Health Economics.
“As one of the most common elective surgeries in the United States, we have to make sure our standards and quality initiatives are at the top,” said Patel. “Designations like this reinforce the importance of choosing a hospital that’s recognized for the high level of care we are providing here at Cooper.”
To learn more about bariatric surgery at Cooper University Health Care, please visit CooperHealth.org/bariatric or call 856.673.4500.
If you’re trying to decide if weight loss surgery is right for you, register for our Free Weight Loss Surgery Seminars here.