News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 17, 2013
MEDIA CONTACT: Stephanie L. Poyant
Public Information Officer
Southcoast Health System
Office: 508-973-5280
Cell: 774-634-1460
poyants@southcoast.org
www.southcoast.org/news/releases/
Southcoast Hospitals ranked among Top 10 percent of hospitals
evaluated for Bariatric Surgery
Healthgrades report finds bariatric surgery patients treated at 5-star hospitals 71
percent less likely to experience in-hospital complications than patients at 1-star
hospitals
WAREHAM, Mass. — A report released this week by Healthgrades named Southcoast™
Hospitals Group among the top 10 percent of hospitals evaluated for bariatric surgery in 2013,
and achieved a 5-star rating for five years in a row. Healthgrades found that patients having
bariatric surgery at hospitals with 5-star performance in bariatric surgery are 71 percent less likely
to experience in-hospital complications than patients at hospitals with 1-star ranking.
The findings are from Healthgrades 2013 Bariatric Surgery Report: Your Choices
Influence Your Outcomes which analyzed clinical outcomes of 204,069 bariatric surgery
discharges from 2009 through 2011, from 467 hospitals in 18 states where data are publicly
available. Local hospital ratings and study methodology are available to consumers at
www.healthgrades.com/quality. The report also identified that hospitals with higher volumes of
surgery had lower complication rates.
The long-term benefits of bariatric surgery, also known as weight loss surgery, include
significant and sustainable long-term weight loss, resolution of diabetes, reduction in
cardiovascular disease risk, and decreased mortality. Healthgrades’ report helps patients identify
long-term and short term risks found in patients who opt for the surgery, and helps them identify
the hospital programs in their area whose patient outcomes minimize the risks of such
complications.
“Recent data on obesity prevalace in the United States shows that more than one-third, or
roughly 78 million Americans are now obese. For those consumers considering bariatric surgery,
the Healthgrades report underscores the importance of understanding all of one’s treatment
options and the need to select a hospital accordingly,” said Evan Marks, EVP, Strategy and
Clinical Informatics, Healthgrades. “The Healthgrades 2013 Bariatric Surgery Award recipients
have demonstrated exceptional performance and a dedicated approach when it comes to bariatric
care.”
Key findings of the Healthgrades 2013 Bariatric Surgery Report: Your Choices Influence
Your Outcomes report include:

Patients having bariatric surgery at hospitals with 5-star performance in bariatric surgery
are 71 percent less likely to experience in-hospital complications than patients at
hospitals with 1-star rating.

If all hospitals from 2009 through 2011 had performed at the level of hospitals with 5stars, 6,417 patients could have potentially avoided a major in-hospital complication.
Healthgrades’ 2013 achievements for Southcoast Hospitals Group Bariatric Surgery
program include:

Ranked Among the Top 10 percent of Hospitals Evaluated for Bariatric Surgery- 2013

Recipient of Healthgrades® Bariatric Surgery Excellence Award™ in 2013

Five-Star Recipient of Overall Bariatric Surgery for 5 Years in a Row (2009/2010-2013)
“We pride ourselves on providing the highest quality patient care with outstanding
clinical outcomes,” said Rayford Kruger, MD, FACS, Bariatric Surgeon & Medical Director for
Southcoast Center for Weight Loss. “As one of the largest weight loss centers in New England,
the Southcoast Center for Weight Loss has successfully completed more than 3,500 weight loss
procedures and our success is shown by our numbers, with an average weight loss of 104 pounds
within 18 months of surgery.”
“At Southcoast, you’ll be in regular contact with our team of experts in nutrition and
exercise as well as psychologists and social workers who run weekly support groups to help our
patients succeed. We know this is a significant lifestyle change for our patients and the only way
for them to succeed is to have the support they need, when and where they need it. We remember
that in everything we do.”
Dr. Kruger is part of Southcoast Center for Weight Loss, part of Southcoast Hospitals
Group, located at Southcoast Health System at Rosebrook, 100 Rosebrook Way, in Wareham. Dr.
Kruger practices with surgeons Donald Colacchio, MD, and Thomas Streeter, MD, FACS.
Southcoast Center for Weight Loss is the highest volume program in New England with
care that far exceeds national quality standards. The program consistently performs significantly
better than industry benchmarks, with a major complication rate at the low rate of approximately
1 percent.
Southcoast’s community-based weight-loss program is designed to incorporate a
thorough approach to weight loss surgery utilizing a team comprised of dieticians, psychologists
and surgeons to provide a safe and comprehensive surgical weight loss program. The program
provides coordinated, safe and comprehensive surgical weight loss services including
laparoscopic gastric bypass, adjustable gastric band, gastric sleeve and revision surgical
procedures. Patients are in regular contact with our team of experts in nutrition and exercise as
well as psychologists and social workers who run weekly support groups to help our patients
succeed. The program also includes post-surgery support groups held in Fall River, Hyannis, New
Bedford and Wareham for the convenience of patients throughout the area.
For more information about Southcoast Center for Weight Loss, call 508-273-4900 or
visit www.southcoast.org/weightloss.
About Southcoast Health System & Southcoast Hospitals Group
Southcoast Health System is a community based health delivery system with multiple
access points, offering an integrated continuum of health services throughout Southeastern
Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It includes the three hospitals that make up Southcoast
Hospitals Group — Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River, St. Luke’s Hospital in New
Bedford and Tobey Hospital in Wareham.
Southcoast provides advanced clinical services, such as open heart surgery, angioplasty
and heart rhythm services, comprehensive cancer care, neurosurgery, weight loss surgery,
orthopedic surgery, advanced imaging services and is the only provider of maternity services in
the region. Southcoast is a not-for-profit charitable organization that depends on the support of
the community to provide services. More information is available online at
www.southcoast.org. Connect to Southcoast through social media
at www.southcoast.org/connect/.
About Healthgrades
Healthgrades, headquartered in Denver, Colorado, is the leading online resource for
comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals. More than 225 million consumers use
the Healthgrades websites to search, compare and connect with physicians and hospitals that best
meet their treatment needs. Consumers are empowered through use of the Healthgrades
proprietary information about clinical outcomes, satisfaction, safety, and health conditions to
make more informed healthcare decisions and take action. For more information please visit
www.healthgrades.com and www.bettermedicine.com.
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