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Hampton, VA – November 10, 2005 - After a rigorous review of clinical quality and safety, surgical outcomes, and overall performance, Sentara CarePlex Hospital along with surgeons Thomas W. Clark, MD and Anthony D. Terracina, MD have received designation as a bariatric surgery “Center of Excellence” by the American Society for Bariatric Surgery (ASBS).
The designation, which was approved in October, highlights hospitals and bariatric surgery centers that meet specific performance standards and consistently show positive surgical results for patients.
“This honor is the culmination of coordinated effort at Sentara by surgeons and staff,” says Megan Perry, administrator of Sentara CarePlex Hospital. “We voluntarily pursued this comprehensive evaluation to validate the quality of the bariatric care we provide on the Peninsula.”
“Patients can have peace of mind knowing they are being cared for by a team providing exceptional bariatric care, recognized for its quality and patient safety excellence,” says general surgeon Thomas W. Clark, M.D, Sentara’s medical director of bariatric services at Sentara CarePlex Hospital.
Nearly 60 percent of Virginian adults are obese or overweight according to a study by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted in 2002. This represents a 50 percent increase from the previous study conducted in 1995. Serious health effects can occur as a result of being overweight including: elevated cholesterol, hypertension, heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
Sentara CarePlex Hospital, part of the region’s premier not-for-profit health care provider Sentara Healthcare, began offering bariatric surgery to morbidly obese patients in 2003. Since then, more than 750 patients have undergone the procedure.
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