St. Charles Bend and ASC named Bariatric Center of Excellence

The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery recently named St. Charles Bend and Advanced Specialty Care a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence. The designation means patients can be assured that bariatric operations performed by surgeons in Bend are completed at a high level of care by physicians who have been extensively trained and have shown proven quality and safety results.

To qualify for the designation, Advanced Specialty Care surgeons Dr. Stephen Archer and Dr. Marnius Koning, performed more than 125 bariatric surgeries in one year’s time, showed low complication rates and solid follow-up with patients. St. Charles Bend made investments and improvements in equipment and technology, trained staff to be sensitive to bariatric patients’ needs and more.

“The Center of Excellence designation demonstrates the hospital’s and the surgeons’ commitment to quality in bariatric operations,” Archer said. “It opens the door to more coverage for more patients.”

Medicare only covers bariatric surgery if it is performed at a Center of Excellence, Archer explained, and other insurers are more likely to cover the procedure as well. He praised the work of his colleague Koning to establish the bariatric surgery program in Central Oregon. Since its inception in 2002, the surgeons have performed nearly 500 bariatric operations totaling between 40,000 and 50,000 pounds of weight loss.

“We are thrilled to have been named a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence,” said Jim Diegel, president and CEO of CHC. “The designation is the result of hard work and dedication by many members of our caregiving community and we are looking forward to continuing to provide our patients with the best possible care.”