Dr. Trace Curry knows first-hand the importance of finding the right surgeon to perform bariatric surgery. He underwent Lap-Band surgery, and has been performing the weight loss procedure himself since 2002, when he was a surgeon at Cincinnati's
Deaconess Hospital.
After performing several procedures Dr. Curry decided to devote his full professional effort to bariatric surgery. In 2008, he co-founded
JourneyLite, an ambulatory center dedicated exclusively to the procedure.
"I quickly found it was an awesome thing to do for people with medical problems. In a short time, I wanted to be involved in it full-time," Curry said.
JourneyLite, in Evendale, specializes in laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (also referred to as LAP-BAND®, REALIZE® band or LAGB for short).
Today the business employs 15 full-time and part-time workers including two other surgeons, and is planning to expand in 2011. The Cincinnati center is owned jointly by the performing surgeons and ASCIRA Partners, a national network of surgical facilities across various disciplines, based in Nashville.
In its short lifetime JourneyLite has distinguished itself by being named a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence. The designation was awarded by the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) and its collaborator the Surgical Review Corporation (SRC). JourneyLite is one of five exclusively dedicated bariatric ambulatory surgery centers in the country that has been awarded this honor.
"Becoming a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence® is a grueling process that requires a commitment to patient care that goes beyond anything a typical Ambulatory Surgery Center would provide. Only a handful of centers across the United States have achieved this distinction, and we are proud to be one of them," Curry said.
The eligibility for certification from the ASMBS requires a rigorous evaluation process which surveys the bariatric program in all-encompassing aspects such as: safe bariatric surgical care with excellent short and long-term outcomes, equipment, supplies training of surgeons, staff, and the availability of consultant services. The BSCOE® was created in 2004 to improve patient experiences in bariatric centers across the United States.
"We're focused on the long-term outcomes, and we're much more concerned about how much patients weigh in five years. It's much more important to take a long-term view. This is certainly not a short term fix," Dr. Curry said.
Writer: Feoshia Henderson
Source: Dr. Trace Curry, surgeon co-owner JourneyLite
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