The bariatric surgery programs at Northwell’s Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Medical Center and Cohen Children’s Medical Center have earned a three-year quality accreditation. The American College of Surgeons’ Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP) recognized each hospital as a Comprehensive Center with Adolescent and Obesity Medicine qualifications.
LIJ’s Center for Bariatric Surgery and Weight Management develops personalized treatment plans to lose weight, which may include surgery, nonsurgical medical weight management or nutrition counseling to reach weight loss goals. Northwell Health surgeons have completed thousands of bariatric procedures, helping patients reach a healthy weight, even those with complicated medical histories.
“MBSAQIP accreditation is an important recognition of the safety and quality of care provided to all our bariatric patients at LIJ and Cohen Children’s,” said Andrea Bedrosian, MD, FACS, director of bariatrics and minimally invasive surgery at LIJ and North Shore University Hospital (NSUH). “This achievement demonstrates our ongoing commitment to the highest standard of care and continuing quality improvement. Each team member is dedicated to maintaining these rigorous standards for every patient we treat.”
This achievement recognizes the dedication of interdisciplinary teams which, since early 2022, prepared for the rigorous survey process. Preparations included comprehensive upgrades to equipment and furniture to accommodate patients with obesity as well as hospital-wide training for staff. This training covered sensitivity, safe patient transfer techniques and recognizing post-operative complications.
“LIJ Medical Center has a history of being a pioneer in bariatric surgery,” said Gene Coppa, MD, senior vice president of surgical services at Northwell and chair of surgery at LIJ and NSUH. “The program has been revitalized and coupled with the adolescent weight management program and surgical expertise is now an accredited American College of Surgeons Center of Excellence. Our surgeons have decades of experience in managing these patients using the most advanced technology.”
Hospitals accredited by MBSAQIP have a 48 percent lower complication rate. For more information or to make an appointment, call (516) 321-8282 or go to: https://lij.northwell.edu/bariatric-surgery
About Northwell Health
Northwell is the largest not-for-profit health system in the Northeast, serving residents of New York and Connecticut with 28 hospitals, more than 1,000 outpatient facilities, 22,000 nurses and over 20,000 physicians. Northwell cares for more than three million people annually in the New York metro area, including Long Island, the Hudson Valley, western Connecticut and beyond, thanks to philanthropic support from our communities. Northwell is New York State’s largest private employer with over 104,000 employees – including members of Northwell Health Physician Partners and Nuvance Health Medical Practices – who are working to change health care for the better. Northwell is making breakthroughs in medicine at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. Northwell is training the next generation of medical professionals at the visionary Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and the Hofstra Northwell School of Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies. For information on our more than 100 medical specialties, visit Northwell.edu and follow us @NorthwellHealth on Facebook, X, Instagram and LinkedIn.
