Weight loss is a multifaceted challenge, and for many, willpower and lifestyle adjustments alone aren't enough. Kettering Health Dayton in Dayton, OH, recognizes this and offers a range of weight loss solutions, including medical weight loss programs and bariatric surgery. This article delves into the reviews and aspects of weight loss solutions, taking into account various perspectives and data points.
Kettering Health Dayton: An Overview
Kettering Health Dayton is a general medical and surgical facility that has received recognition for its performance in various adult procedures and conditions. It is rated high performing in 6 adult procedures and conditions. News generates hospital rankings by evaluating data on nearly 5,000 hospitals. To be nationally ranked in a specialty, a hospital must excel in caring for the sickest, most medically complex patients. The hospital's commitment to patient care is reflected in its multidisciplinary approach to weight loss, involving skilled bariatric surgeons, psychologists, dietitians, and exercise physiologists.
Medical Weight Loss Programs
Kettering Health Dayton offers medical weight loss programs that provide medical supervision and help patients integrate diet, physical activity, and healthy lifestyle skills into their lives. These programs are designed to address the individual needs of patients, recognizing that weight loss is not a one-size-fits-all solution.
Why is tackling weight important? Increased BMI may put individuals at risk of a variety of health conditions, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers. The extra weight also puts pressure on joints, resulting in pain and decreased mobility with age. A healthy lifestyle is key to reaching an ideal weight. However, it’s difficult to exercise enough if physical activity causes pain. Plus, cravings may make it difficult to eat well. In addition, there may be other factors playing a role, such as genetics, a lack of knowledge of what a balanced diet looks like, or limited time for physical activity, preparing healthy meals, and sleeping. Lastly, some people gain weight due to a medication like a beta blocker needed to control a chronic health condition. The best medical weight loss programs pair medications with lifestyle changes.
Prescription Weight Loss Medications
Medications can play a pivotal role in the journey to lose weight. Semaglutide is a GLP-1 weight loss medication used for weight management. What sets compounded semaglutide apart is that it's customized according to each patient's necessities. It allows healthcare providers to adjust dosages appropriately without being confined to standard cannisters or pens. This tailored approach ensures higher effectiveness and responsiveness to your needs. Another noteworthy option is tirzepatide, a medication functional similar to semaglutide. Like semaglutide, tirzepatide can be compounded, enabling personalized doses for each individual. Typically, to qualify for prescription weight loss medication, patients need to have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher. However, those with BMI of 27 or above, suffering from weight-related conditions such as hypertension or type 2 diabetes, may also be eligible.
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Bariatric Surgery: A Team Approach
For individuals who haven't found success with medical weight loss programs, bariatric surgery may be an option. Kettering Health Dayton's bariatric program features a team approach to better coordinate patient care. This includes a skilled bariatric surgeon, psychologist, dietitian, and exercise physiologist.
CMS Bariatric Facility Certification: A Point of Contention
A significant point of discussion within the bariatric surgery community revolves around the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Bariatric Facility Certification. In 2013, CMS proposed a decision memo to remove the facility certification requirement, sparking considerable debate among healthcare professionals.
Arguments Against Removing Facility Certification
Many professionals strongly disagreed with the proposed decision to remove facility certification. Their arguments were rooted in concerns about patient safety and the quality of care.
Compromised Patient Safety: Several respondents emphasized that without certified facilities, quality improvement efforts would be greatly hampered, and patient safety would be compromised. Bariatric surgery is a highly complex procedure and requires hospital resources to make this procedure safe.
Importance of Standardized Guidelines and Benchmarks: Some professionals highlighted the significant improvement in providing care to bariatric patients while meeting standardized guidelines and benchmarks.
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Multidisciplinary Team Support: The support of a multidisciplinary team was seen as crucial for bariatric patients to lose more weight with fewer complications.
Centers of Excellence (COE) Designation: Some professionals strongly supported the continued use of the Center of Excellence designation required for Medicare patients. Centers of excellence force institutions to maintain the highest standards of vigilance and care, and any opposition to certifying these centers does not take place in the best interests of patients.
Improved Outcomes and Safety: Some said that the COE process has improved their outcomes and safety record. Bariatric surgery is a complex specialty and the scrutiny involved in the COE program has created a safe environment for patients. Data shows that centers of excellence are beneficial for improving care for patients undergoing bariatric surgery.
Experience and Expertise: Some professionals with extensive experience in treating morbid obesity and its medical complications expressed their disagreement with the removal of facility certification.
Higher Success Rates: Patients experience a higher success rate with the increase availability of services at a certified facility.
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Lower Death Rates: Center's of Excellence establishment results in great patient benefits for safety, outcomes and lower death rates
Sicker Medicare Patients: CMS should continue their COE requirement due to the fact that Medicare patients are demonstrably sicker, and pose an increased risk of post- operative complications. Additionally, patient safety is increased in a COE environment, with shorter LOS, and lower cost.
Arguments For Removing Facility Certification
Limited Access to Care: One argument in favor of removing the COE designation was that it limited access to care and continuity of care for patients seeking bariatric surgery procedures.
Comparable Outcomes: Some studies suggest that there is no difference in outcomes between COE and non-COE facilities. Outcome depends on physician and clinical provider care, not "bricks and mortar". COE designation does not guarantee optimal outcome.
Community Hospitals: Removing the COE designation could benefit individuals who do not have the opportunity to travel to larger institutions where those services can be performed.
Patient Experience at Kettering Health Dayton
Patient experience is a crucial aspect of evaluating any healthcare provider. Kettering Health Dayton utilizes the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey to gather feedback from patients after their hospital stay.
Socioeconomic Representation in Access to Care
Kettering Health Dayton also focuses on socioeconomic representation in access to care. The hospital tracks the representation of low-income patients treated at the hospital and the percentage of patients treated who live in more disadvantaged neighborhoods.
Demographic Representation
The hospital also monitors the demographic representation of its patients, including the percentages of non-white, Black, Asian American and Pacific Islander, Hispanic, and Native American patients.
Outcomes Disparities
Kettering Health Dayton analyzes how successful the hospital is in enabling Black patients to live at home during their first 30 days of recovery, with no time or minimal time spent in a hospital, ER or nursing home, compared to White patients at that hospital.