MAYWOOD, IL – Loyola Medicine has been recognized as a Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois Blue Distinction Center+ for Bariatric Surgery through the Blue Distinction® Specialty Care program.

Blue Distinction Centers are nationally designated health care facilities that show a commitment to delivering high-quality patient safety and better health outcomes, based on objective measures that were developed with input from the medical community and leading accreditation and quality organizations.

Blue Distinction Centers for Bariatric Surgery provide a full range of bariatric surgery care, including surgical care, post-operative obesity medical and surgical care, outpatient follow up and lifelong patient education.

Loyola Medicine bariatric surgeries take place at Gottlieb Memorial Hospital in Melrose Park and Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood. Care is also provided at the Loyola Center for Metabolic Surgery and Bariatric Care on the Gottlieb campus.

“Loyola Medicine offers comprehensive weight loss care, including bariatric surgery and medical options. Our team includes highly skilled surgeons, weight loss doctors, registered dietitians and psychologists, providing individualized weight loss strategies for each of our patients," said Bipan Chand, MD, regional director, Loyola Center for Metabolic Surgery and Bariatric Care. "We are honored to receive this distinction from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois and continue to focus on high quality and safety for all of our patients."

Bariatric surgeries are among the most common elective surgeries in the U.S., with more than 252,000 bariatric surgeries performed in 2018, according to a report from the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS). The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimate that nearly 42.7% of U.S. adults and more than 18.5% of youth are obese and impacted by obesity-related health conditions.

About Loyola Medicine

Loyola Medicine, a member of Trinity Health, is a nationally ranked academic, quaternary care system based in Chicago's western suburbs. The three-hospital system includes Loyola University Medical Center (LUMC), Gottlieb Memorial HospitalMacNeal Hospital, as well as convenient locations offering primary care, specialty care and immediate care services from nearly 2,000 physicians throughout Cook, Will and DuPage counties. LUMC is a 547-licensed-bed hospital in Maywood that includes the William G. and Mary A. Ryan Center for Heart & Vascular Medicine, the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, the John L. Keeley, MD, Emergency Department, a Level 1 trauma center, Illinois's largest burn center, the Nancy W. Knowles Orthopaedic Institute, a certified comprehensive stroke centertransplant center and a children’s hospital. Having delivered compassionate care for over 50 years, Loyola also trains the next generation of caregivers through its academic affiliation with Loyola University Chicago’s Stritch School of Medicine and Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing.   

For more information, visit loyolamedicine.org. You can also follow Loyola Medicine on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram or X (formerly known as Twitter).

About Trinity Health

Trinity Health is one of the largest not-for-profit, faith-based health care systems in the nation. It is a family of 127,000 colleagues and more than 38,300 physicians and clinicians caring for diverse communities across 26 states. Nationally recognized for care and experience, the Trinity Health system includes 93 hospitals, 107 continuing care locations, the second largest PACE program in the country, 142 urgent care locations and many other health and well-being services. In fiscal year 2024, the Livonia, Michigan-based health system invested $1.3 billion in its communities in the form of charity care and other community benefit programs. For more information, visit us at www.trinity-health.org, or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and X (formerly known as Twitter).