HCA Healthcare: Bariatric Care and Patient Support

Bariatric Care That Includes Advanced Technology and Patient Support

A comprehensive approach that includes mental, emotional and physical support can help bariatric patients maintain weight loss. Anisa Grantham, bariatric coordinator at HCA Healthcare’s Memorial Health Surgical & Bariatric Care in Savannah, Georgia, knows what it means for patients to face a lifelong struggle with obesity. Anisa, who started her career in addiction and recovery counseling 30 years ago, transitioned to bariatrics in 2016. Now, in addition to clinical bariatric care, she leads workshops and a support group for patients. She advises, coaches and assists bariatric surgery patients with the knowledge and compassion of someone who underwent the procedure herself. “I am passionate, and sometimes it gets the best of me. But I love what I do,” she says. Bariatrics has evolved significantly since Anisa’s gastric bypass surgery in 2002. Programs now include more mental health support before and after surgery, and technology — the use of robotics — also makes bariatric surgery easier, safer and more effective. HCA Healthcare hospitals house more than 10% of all accredited bariatric surgery facilities in the country. Accreditation encompasses the independent evaluation and certification of treatment programs based on quality and quality-improvement activities. Bariatric surgery involves a set of procedures — some endoscopic and others operative — that make an anatomical change to the gastrointestinal tract to help control hunger and increase satisfaction when a person eats. These changes accelerate patient weight loss. “The weight loss then affects almost every organ system in the body, in terms of improving dysfunction or diseases,” says Matthew Brengman, MD, medical director for bariatric surgery and associate chief medical officer for Parham Doctors’ Hospital in Richmond, Virginia. Read Full Article Here