Multi-center Program Receives Blue Distinction+ for Bariatrics

 

BRIGHTON, MA – February 5, 2018 – As part of the Blue Distinction® Centers for Specialty Care Program,  Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (Blue Cross) has recognized St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, a teaching affiliate of Tufts University School of Medicine, with a Blue Distinction® Center+ designation for its Center for Weight Control.  The multidisciplinary team at the Steward Center for Weight Control works with patients to provide a wide range of services to help lead healthier lives. The center provides both surgical and non-surgical options depending on the patients’ needs and has been recognized for delivering quality specialty care efficiently.

“The Blue Distinction® recognition reflects the experience and expertise of our surgical and support staff in offering often-times life-saving bariatric surgery,” said Nicole Pecquex, MD, Co-Director, Steward Center for Weight Control. “Surgeons Anthony McCluney, MD, and Matthew Lemaitre, MD and I are proud and honored to be part of one of only a few programs in the Boston area to receive this designation. With the Blue Distinction Center® for Bariatric Surgery designation, patients can be assured they are receiving the very best surgical care in the Boston-area.”

The Blue Distinction Centers for Specialty Care program serves as a resource for patients to find quality providers for their specialty care needs. Blue Distinction® Centers are nationally designated healthcare 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. To receive a Blue Distinction® Center for Bariatric Surgery designation, a healthcare facility must:

·        Demonstrate success in meeting patient safety as well as bariatric-specific quality measures, including complications and readmissions, for gastric stapling and/or gastric banding procedures.

·        Earn national accreditations at both the facility level and the bariatric care-specific level.

In addition to meeting the same quality criteria as Blue Distinction Centers, providers receiving a Blue Distinction® Center+ designation must also demonstrate excellence in efficiency in delivering this quality care.

The Steward Center for Weight Control treats patients at five sites throughout Eastern Massachusetts including:

·        Steward Center for Weight Control at St. Elizabeth's Medical Center: Brighton, MA

·        Steward Center for Weight Control at Good Samaritan Medical Center: Brockton, MA

·        Steward Center for Weight Control at Holy Family Hospital: Methuen, MA

·        Steward Center for Weight Control at Hawthorn Medical Associates: Dartmouth, MA

·        Steward Center for Weight Control at Saint Anne’s Hospital: Fall River, MA

 

The program has also earned numerous awards and recognition for our outstanding patient care and surgical excellence including:

·        Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP)

·        Optum™ Centers of Excellence 

·        Boston Top Doctors

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About St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center

St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center is a major academic medical center affiliated with Tufts University School of Medicine.  Areas of medical excellence include vascular and endovascular surgery, cardiology, neurosciences, general and robotic surgery, bariatric surgery, women’s health, high-risk obstetrics, bone and joint health, hematology/oncology, pulmonary medicine and emergency medicine.  St. Elizabeth’s is a member of Steward Health Care. Visit St. Elizabeth’s online at www.semc.org.

 

About Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (www.bluecrossma.com) is a community-focused, tax-paying, not-for-profit health plan headquartered in Boston. We are the trusted health plan for more than 31,500 Massachusetts employers and are committed to working with others in a spirit of shared responsibility to make quality health care affordable. Consistent with our corporate promise to always put our nearly 3 million members first, we are rated among the nation’s best health plans for member satisfaction and quality.  Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn.

 

About 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 healthcare coverage for nearly 106 million members – one in three Americans. For more information on the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and its member companies, please visit bcbs.com. We encourage you to connect with us on Facebook, check out our videos on YouTube, follow us on Twitter and check out The BCBS Blog, for up-to-date information about BCBSA.

 

About Blue Distinction Centers
Blue Distinction Centers (BDC) met overall quality measures for patient safety and outcomes, developed with input from the medical community. Blue Distinction Centers+ (BDC+) also met cost measures that address consumers’ need for affordable healthcare. Individual outcomes may vary. National criteria is displayed on www.bcbs.com. A Local Blue Plan may require additional criteria for facilities located in its own service area. For details on Local Blue Plan Criteria, a provider’s in-network status, or your own policy’s coverage, contact your Local Blue Plan. Each facility’s cost of care is evaluated using data from its Local Blue Plan. Facilities 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. Neither Blue Cross Blue Shield Association nor any Blue Plans are responsible for damages or non-covered charges resulting from Blue Distinction or other provider finder information or care received from Blue Distinction or other providers.