(January 15, 2007 - Rockville Centre, NY) - Mercy Medical Center has been named a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence, an award recognizing hospitals that provide the highest levels of efficacy, efficiency and safety in weight-loss surgery.

Mercy is one of only 211 hospitals across the country to receive the designation from the American Society For Bariatric Surgery, which grants the award to facilities found to provide optimum performance in a rigorous review process that includes a series of site inspections that closely examine all aspects of the surgical processes, and collection of data on health outcomes.

“Designation as a Center of Excellence confirms that the high quality of our weight-loss surgery program is matched by fewer than 20 percent of the more than 1,100 hospitals performing Bariatric surgery across the country,” said Shawn Garber, MD, Chief of Bariatric Surgery at Mercy Medical Center and Director of the New York Bariatric Group.

Dr. Garber heads a dedicated Bariatric Surgery Team at Mercy that has performed more than 2,000 minimally-invasive weight-loss procedures. It includes two board-certified surgeons, specially-trained Bariatric nurses, a physician assistant, a full-time nutritionist, a PhD psychologist and a personal trainer, who work with patients and their families before, during and after surgery to assure the best possible outcomes. Support group meetings are also held monthly so that patients can always feel connected and have an opportunity to deal with issues and share their experiences.

The Bariatric Center at Mercy offers two weight-loss procedures; Laparoscopic Gastric Bypass (also referred to as Roux-en-Y gastric bypass) which is considered the “Gold Standard” of modern obesity surgery, and Laparoscopic Banding (Adjustable Gastric Band). Both procedures are performed using state-of-the-art minimally-invasive laparoscopic techniques with smaller incisions, less post-surgery pain, less time in the hospital, and a faster recovery.

Education and informational presentations are offered monthly at Mercy Medical Center to those individuals who are contemplating bariatric surgery.

For more information contact Mercy Medical Center at (516) 705-2702, or Dr. Shawn Garber at (516) 616-5500.

About Mercy Medical Center

Mercy Medical Center in Rockville Centre is a 387-bed, not-for-profit hospital serving the healthcare needs of Nassau County and its surrounding area. Best known for services in maternal health, oncology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, orthopedics, and behavioral health, Mercy is a state-designated Level II Trauma and Stroke Center, site of a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, a Bariatric Center of Excellence designated by the American Society of Bariatric Surgery, and the regional home of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Mercy is the recipient of the 2007 Orthopedic Care Excellence Award from HealthGrades, marking the third year in a row that the nation’s leading healthcare ratings company has given Mercy’s program its top orthopedics honor.

Founded nearly a century ago by the Sisters of the Congregation of the Infant Jesus, Mercy today has a medical staff of over 800 physicians, more than 2,000 employees and one of Long Island’s newest acute-care hospital facilities, the $41 million, 160-bed North Pavilion housing state-of-the-art technology and the latest features in hospital design to promote patient safety and comfort.

For information and physician referrals call (516) 62-MERCY or visit Mercy on line at http://mercymedicalcenter.chsli.org.

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For immediate release, contact: Mel Granick
Phone: 516-705-2618
E-Mail: mel.granick@chsli.org