Loyola Medicine Recognized as Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois Blue Distinction Center+ for Bariatric Surgery

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.