RWJ Rahway Surgical Weight-Loss Center
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Rahway’s surgical weight loss program has received accreditation by the national Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP®), a joint quality program of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS).
The accreditation as a Comprehensive Center means that patients seeking surgical treatment for obesity have a high-quality choice at a nationally accredited program that meets the highest standards for patient safety and quality.
“We are immensely proud that the program was recognized as MBSAQIP Comprehensive Center,” said Dr. Anish Nihalani, FACS, FASMBS, medical director of the RWJUH Rahway Weight Loss program. “The American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) is the national governing body that reviews programs and has rigorous standards for surgical outcomes, pre and post nutritional support and ongoing care of the morbidly obese patient.”
MBSAQIP Standards ensure that metabolic and bariatric patients receive multidisciplinary medical care, which improves patient outcomes and long-term success.
RWJ Rahway’s commitment to quality care begins with expertly trained staff and the leadership of an experienced bariatric surgeon. The program is tasked with continuous review of surgical data as they continue improving the structure and outcomes expertise necessary to provide safe, efficacious, and high-quality care to all metabolic and bariatric patients.
To earn MBSAQIP Accreditation, the RWJ Rahway program met essential criteria for staffing, training, facility infrastructure and patient care pathways, ensuring its ability to support patients with obesity. The center also participates in a national data registry that yields semiannual reports on the quality of its surgical outcomes and identifying opportunities for quality improvement. The MBSAQIP Standards, Optimal Resources for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, are published by the ACS and the ASMBS.
The program underwent an extensive site visit by an experienced bariatric surgeon who reviewed the center’s structure, processes, and clinical outcomes data.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates about 93 million adults in the United States are affected by obesity, which increases the risks of morbidity and mortality because of the conditions commonly associated with it, such as type II diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and cancer, among other health risks.
Metabolic and bariatric surgery has proven to be effective in the reduction of comorbid conditions related to obesity. Working together, the ACS and the ASMBS have developed accreditation standards for metabolic and bariatric surgery to assist patients with obesity in identifying centers that provide optimal patient care.
