The Bariatric program at Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital has been recertified by the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) as a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence (BSCOE). This recertification reaffirms Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital’s commitment to providing quality improvement and patient safety for bariatric surgery patients.

“We are very proud of our recertification by the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery,” said Anne Marie Couch, Bariatric Program Coordinator at Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital.  “This is a wonderful acknowledgement of our success and hard work.”

Through the ASMBS accreditation, Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital has demonstrated its ability to meet the needs of bariatric surgery patients by providing multidisciplinary, high-quality and patient-centered care. Since opening in January 2005, more than 1,200 patients have received weight loss surgery through the bariatric program. By helping patients lose weight, the bariatric program has also been able to address other health concerns such as high blood pressure, diabetes and sleep conditions.

“Being a highly regarded resource for weight loss and bariatric programs is very important to us. Through our bariatric program, we are helping patients transform their lives and live healthier,” says Couch.

Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital offers comprehensive weight loss surgery programs such as Lap-Band, gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy.  For more information about bariatric services at Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital, including seminar and support group schedules for 2014, visit www.mtmcweightloss.org.  

Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital (STRH) is a member of Saint Thomas Health, Middle Tennessee’s faith-based, not-for-profit health care system with more than 6,500 associates. Saint Thomas Health is a member of Ascension Health, a Catholic organization that is the largest not-for-profit health system in the United States For more information, visit www.sthealth.com.