White Plains Hospital becomes accredited for bariatric surgery center

White Plains Hospital’s bariatric surgical center was recently accredited by the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program, a joint program of the American College of Surgeons and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.

To receive the national accreditation, bariatric centers must offer both surgical procedures as well as a multidisciplinary program for severely obese patients.

The center at White Plains Hospital, a member of Montefiore Health System, offers both preoperative and postoperative care for severely obese patients as well as monthly support groups for patients who undergo weight loss surgery. Options for surgery include laparoscopic roux-en-Y gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy.

The program was founded in 1998 by Dr. William Homan and his wife, Valerie, and is currently headed by Dr. Philip Weber, director of bariatric surgery at White Plains Hospital.

“This designation is a credit to our outstanding, highly dedicated team,” Weber said.

To receive accreditation, bariatric centers are required to first submit an application and are then visited by an experienced bariatric surgeon who makes a specific designation based on its number of annual patients, type of procedures it provides and whether it serves patients under the age of 18.

The current standards were established in 2014, according to the American College of Surgeons.