Bariatric surgery has been offered at Munson Medical Center as a permanent weight loss solution for morbidly obese patients since August 2003. Outstanding outcomes, low complication rates, and faster recoveries resulted in Munson’s Bariatric Surgery program being designated as a Center of Excellence by Blue Cross of Michigan and Priority Health.
About 400 bariatric procedures are performed annually at Munson Medical Center. Munson offers Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy, and the LAP-BAND® procedure.
Patients considering weight loss surgery at Munson Medical Center must undergo a rigorous screening process, beginning with a two-hour educational seminar. Munson’s Bariatric Surgery team consists of four board-certified, highly-skilled surgeons, all part of Grand Traverse Surgery, PC.
Grand Traverse Surgery is recognized as a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence, along with Munson Medical Center. The recognition comes from the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, following a thorough review of the hospital’s program and physician practices.
Comprehensive after care is a cornerstone of Munson’s bariatric program. Patients commit to a lifetime of follow-up care, including adherence to guidelines on diet, exercise, and vitamin supplements. Physicians provide continued monitoring and bariatric patients receive tremendous encouragement and comfort by meeting with other patients who have undergone weight loss surgery at Munson. In addition to patient-to-patient support, behaviorists, dietitians, and other specialists help patients make permanent, positive lifestyle changes.
Munson Medical Center is a 391-bed regional referral center for northern Michigan, and has gained a national reputation for outstanding patient care. Munson has been named a Top 100 Hospital eleven times by Thomson Reuters, more than any other hospital in Michigan and one of only five hospitals nationally to be recognized as many times. Thomson Reuters also honored Munson with the 2008 Everest Award for National Benchmarks, recognizing the hospital’s rate of long-term improvement. In addition, Munson was the sole recipient of the 2008 AHA-McKesson Quest for Quality Prize and has earned the Magnet Award for Nursing Excellence, placing its nursing staff in the top 5.9 percent in the nation.
Munson Medical Center is a proud ASMBS Center of Excellence.
