Phoebe Sumter Listed on Money’s First-Ever Best Hospitals for Bariatric Surgery List
Albany, GA | March 23, 2023 – Phoebe Sumter Medical Center is included as one of only 101 hospitals in the United States on Money.com’s first-ever Best Hospitals for Bariatric Surgery list. Money.com announced the list in partnership with The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit organization with a mission of improving patient safety. The 101 hospitals that earned this distinction achieve Leapfrog's standards for safety, including performing a high enough number of the procedures to give patients the best odds of a good outcome, and keeping patients safe from errors, infections and complications.
“At Phoebe Sumter, we are proud to be the home base for Phoebe Bariatrics which provides safe, quality and effective treatment for weight loss patients from across south Georgia,” said Carlyle Walton, Phoebe Sumter CEO. “Our program is nationally accredited, and our expert team is led by two outstanding bariatric surgeons, Dr. Jeremy Joyner and Dr. Sean Sheff. In the nine years since we began offering weight-loss surgery, our team has completed more than 720 bariatric surgeries, maintaining exceptional quality and positive long-term outcomes for our patients,” Walton added.
The Phoebe Bariatrics program coordinator is a certified bariatric nurse who has earned a doctorate of nurse practice degree. In addition to the two board-certified and fellowship trained bariatric surgeons and the program coordinator, the bariatrics team at Phoebe includes a registered dietitian, licensed practical nurse, medical assistant and dedicated operating room and post-operative nursing staff. All procedures are performed in Americus at Phoebe Sumter. Pre-screenings and post-surgery follow-up appointments are offered in both Albany and Americus.
Studies show that the experience of both the hospital personnel involved in the procedure and recovery, as well as the surgeon, help keep patients safer during and after this surgery. Hospitals on this prestigious list meet Leapfrog standards for the number of bariatric procedures performed at the hospital and by individual surgeons. The hospitals also utilize a safe surgery checklist, prevent healthcare-associated infections and perform well on the bi-annual Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade which assigns a letter grade to all general acute care hospitals in the U.S. based on how well they protect patients from preventable harm.
"This new list features one-of-a-kind selections that gives readers an excellent look at one of the most difficult surgeries to perform," said Money's Executive Editor Mike Ayers. “We are proud to honor hospitals like Phoebe Sumter with this distinction.”
Patients who have bariatric surgery for weight loss performed at a hospital and by a surgeon that have more experience have better, more positive outcomes – including lower mortality rates, lower complication rates and a shorter length of stay at the hospital.
Phoebe Sumter is one of only four Georgia hospitals to earn a spot on the Money.com list. Anyone interested in learning more about weight-loss surgery may visit www.phoebeweightloss.com or call 229-931-1152 to register for a free seminar.