To learn more about Blue Distinction, please visit www.bcbs.com or contact your Local Blue Plan.
Cooper University Health Care has received the Blue Distinction® Centers+ for Bariatric Surgery designation for quality and cost efficiency, as part of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association’s Blue Distinction Specialty Care program.
Blue Distinction Centers are nationally designated health care facilities that show a commitment to delivering high quality patient safety and better health outcomes, based on objective measures that were developed with input from the medical community and leading accreditation and quality organizations. The Blue Distinction Centers for Bariatric Surgery program provides a full range of bariatric surgery care; including surgical care, post-operative care, outpatient follow-up care, and patient education.
Cooper, as a participating health system in the Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield network, earned this designation by meeting the rigorous Blue Distinction Center quality selection criteria for bariatric surgery set by the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program.
“As the leading academic health system in the region, our patients have come to trust our specialists are providing the highest level of care and we are grateful for this designation, which further attests to the quality and efficiency of Cooper’s Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery Center,” said Kevin O’Dowd, JD, co-CEO of Cooper.
“This Blue Cross Blue Shield Distinction of our bariatric program is a direct reflection of the skill and dedication, and the compassion shown to our patients by our of physicians, advanced practice providers, and support team,” said Anthony J. Mazzarelli, MD, JD, MBE, co-CEO of Cooper.
Bariatric surgeries are among the most common elective surgeries in the U.S. – with more than 252,000 bariatric surgeries performed in 2018 based on a report from the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS). Bariatric surgery is the most effective treatment for severely obese patients because it allows for substantial, sustained weight loss, which leads to, improves, or resolves obesity-related co-morbidities like type 2 diabetes.
In addition to surgery, Cooper’s Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery Center program offers nutritional counseling, exercise counseling, and group and individual support sessions following surgery. Cooper’s Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery Center meets rigorous criteria for safe, high-quality surgical care. As a result, the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program has named Cooper is a Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP®) – Comprehensive with Adolescent Qualifications Center.
About Cooper University Health Care
Cooper University Health Care is the leading academic tertiary care health system and the only state-designated Level 1 Trauma Center in South Jersey with a mission to serve, to heal, to educate. With more than 700 physicians, more than 8,000 employees, and a network of more than 100 medical offices and three urgent care centers throughout the region, Cooper offers signature programs in cardiology, critical care, neurosciences, pediatrics, orthopedics, and surgical specialties. The Cooper Health Sciences campus is home to Cooper University Hospital, MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper, Children’s Regional Hospital at Cooper, and Cooper Medical School of Rowan University. For more information about Cooper University Health Care, visit www.CooperHealth.org.
About Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, the state’s oldest and largest health insurer is a tax-paying, not-for-profit health service corporation, providing a wide array of medical, dental, vision and prescription insurance products and services. Horizon BCBSNJ is leading the transformation of health care in New Jersey by working with doctors and hospitals to deliver innovative, patient-centered programs that reward the quality, not quantity, of care patients receive. Learn more at www.HorizonBlue.com. Horizon BCBSNJ is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association serving nearly 3.6 million members.
About the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association
The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association is a national federation of 36 independent, community-based and locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies that collectively provide health care coverage for one in three Americans. BCBSA provides health care insights through The Health of America Report series and the national BCBS Health IndexSM. For more information on BCBSA and its member companies, please visit bcbs.com. We also encourage you to connect with us on Facebook, check out our videos on YouTube, follow us on Twitter and check out our blog.
About Blue Distinction Centers
Blue Distinction Centers (BDC) met overall quality measures, developed with input from the medical community. A Local Blue Plan may require additional criteria for providers located in its own service area; for details, contact your Local Blue Plan. Blue Distinction Centers+ (BDC+) also met cost measures that address consumers’ need for affordable healthcare. Each provider’s cost of care is evaluated using data from its Local Blue Plan. Providers in CA, ID, NY, PA, and WA may lie in two Local Blue Plans’ areas, resulting in two evaluations for cost of care; and their own Local Blue Plans decide whether one or both cost of care evaluation(s) must meet BDC+ national criteria. National criteria for BDC and BDC+ are displayed on www.bcbs.com. Individual outcomes may vary. For details on a provider’s in-network status or your own policy’s coverage, contact your Local Blue Plan and ask your provider before making an appointment. Neither Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association nor any Blue Plans are responsible for noncovered charges or other losses or damages resulting from Blue Distinction or other provider finder information or care received from Blue Distinction or other providers. For more information about the program and for a complete listing of designated facilities, visit www.bcbs.com/bluedistinction.
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Wendy A. Marano
Public Relations Manager
marano-wendy@cooperhealth.edu
Office: 856.382.6463
Cell: 856.904.1688