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Date Published: Thursday, April 20, 2017
Date Updated: Friday, June 30, 2023

Bariatric Surgery Program at Good Samaritan Hospital and BonSecours Community Hospital Receives Five-Star Rating from Healthgrades

The Surgical Weight Loss Institute at Good Samaritan Hospital (GSH) and Bon Secours Community Hospital (BSCH) has received a Five-Star Rating from Healthgrade

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Bariatric Surgery Program at Good Samaritan Hospital and Bon Secours Community Hospital Receives Five-Star Rating from Healthgrades

The Surgical Weight Loss Institute at Good Samaritan Hospital (GSH) and Bon Secours Community Hospital (BSCH) has received a Five-Star Rating from Healthgrades. Consumers use Healthgrades as an online resource to help find the right doctor and the right hospital for the right care.

"We are proud to receive this recognition from such a prestigious organization like Healthgrades," said Ramon Rivera, M.D., Bariatric Director of Good Samaritan Hospital's Weight Loss Surgical Institute. 

"This award affirms our center's commitment to quality patient care and the contributions of all hospital staff members in making the designation possible," said Jaime Cepeda, M.D., Medical Director of Bon Secours Community Hospital's Weight Loss Surgical Institute.

The Surgical Weight Loss Institute is accredited by the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality improvement Program (MBSAQIP), a joint program of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS); there are 720 accredited centers in the U.S. and 52 are located in New YorkState.  Research has shown that mortality in patients operated on in centers that are not nationally accredited is double those that are accredited.

Each year, Healthgrades evaluates the performance of those hospitals performing bariatric surgery by measuring risk-adjusted in-patient complication rates. Healthgrades then identifies the top 10 percent of those evaluated, and recognizes them as recipients of the Healthgrades Bariatric Surgery Excellence Award. 

The Surgical Weight Loss Institute was launched by Peter Kwon, M.D., Medical Director of the SWLI at BSCH in 2003 and then expanded to GSH in 2005. Since then, and between the two hospitals, the program has performed over 7,250 cases to date. Last year, 427 cases were performed at GSH and 418 were performed at BSCH.

The Surgical Weight Loss Institute provides a highly individualized, approach to weight-loss success and offers comprehensive preoperative assessment and preparation, excellent surgical care and lifelong postoperative care and support.
 
The highly-skilled surgeons specialize in a range of surgical weight-loss techniques, primarily sleeve gastrectomy, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and in some cases the Lap-Band.  At BSCH, the new Olympus' Visera 4K Ultra High-Definition Imaging System, along with the ENDOEYE FLEX 3D SCOPE, is used to offer accurate vision into the surgical site. 

For more information, call 845-368-5285 (GSH) or 845-858-7277 (BSCH).

  


The Bariatric Surgery team at BSCH (l-r): Lisa Cullinan-Peters, RN, Pre-OP; Diana Rozyla-Rieg, Surgical Technician; Colleen Henderson, RN, OR; James Levinsohn, M.D., Anesthesiologist; Peter Kwon, M.D., SWLI Administrator /Bariatric Surgeon;  Jaime Cepeda, M.D., Chief of Surgery/Metabolic Bariatric Surgical Director; Tracy Drasher, RN, Recovery Room; Cynthia Marsilio, RN, MSN, ANP, MBSCR, Bariatric Program Director for BSCH and GSH; Connie McGuire, NA, Bariatric Care Partner; and Cathy Coughlin-Phraner, RN, MSHCA, CNOR, CASC, Surgical Services Nurse Manager


 

The Bariatric Surgery team at GSH includes (standing l-r): Trish O'Sullivan, Med-Surge Nurse; Diane Wilcomes, Director of PeriOp; Ahmed Assas, Anesthesiologist; Dr. Ramon Rivera, Bariatric Medical Director; Dr. Wayne Weiss, Bariatric Surgeon; Nubia Cwalinski, OR Tech; Maria Scaffidi, Bariatric Coordinator; Helen Mangan, OR Bariatric Nurse; Margaret Damiani, PACU Nurse; Susan Epstein, Bariatric Dietitian; and (seated: l-r): Carole Brown, Same Day Surgery Nurse; Elizabeth Heim-Bell, OR Nurse Manager; and Linda Matacchiera, Surgical Scheduler Peri op Services