JUPITER, FLA. (November 17, 2015) Jupiter Medical Center today announced
that its Institute for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery has been accredited
as a Comprehensive Center 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.
Jupiter Medical Center is one of only two hospitals in Palm Beach County
to achieve this prestigious distinction.
Bariatric surgery involves reducing the stomach to a small pouch, and attaching
the small intestine to the stomach pouch, permitting food to bypass the
lower stomach which reduces the amount of calories and nutrients the body absorbs.
Under the leadership of Jefferson Vaughan, MD, Medical Director of Jupiter
Medical Center’s Institute for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery,
the program underwent a rigorous voluntary site visit survey to ensure
Jupiter Medical Center meets essential criteria for staffing, training
and facility infrastructure and protocols for high quality care, ensuring
its ability to support patients with severe obesity.
“We at Jupiter Medical Center are proud to be recognized for our
commitment to patient care,” said John Couris, President and CEO
of Jupiter Medical Center. “This accreditation further demonstrates
the level of quality we provide, the expertise and great leadership of
our physicians, and our continued efforts to aid in the betterment of
our community’s health and wellness.”
Jupiter Medical Center’s Institute for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery,
which has been in place since 2000, provides bariatric surgical patients
with a multidisciplinary program—not just a surgical procedure—which
improves patient outcomes and long-term success. From preoperative and
postoperative care and education, to nutrition counseling, exercise therapy
and behavioral health support, the comprehensive program is designed specifically
for severely obese patients—taking care to provide complete physical
and mental care for this unique patient population.
“This accreditation is a testament to how we are reimagining the
way we care for our community’s health and wellness,” stated
Jefferson R. Vaughan, MD, Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Director at
Jupiter Medical Center. “At Jupiter Medical Center, we were early
pioneers of surgical weight loss. Since the program’s inception,
our team has worked tirelessly to bring the latest technological advancements
for minimally invasive surgical weight loss, while also addressing the
unique patient needs of bariatric patients, treating the entire person,
not just the medical condition.”
Staying at the forefront of the latest surgical technology, Jupiter Medical
Center was recently the first in the state of Florida to install the CONMED
3-DHD surgical camera. This advanced technology allows the surgeon to
have crystal clear 3-D images of the body—like the human eyes see
things every day—but that can be harder to visualize during surgery.
3-DHD vision restores the surgeon’s natural field of vision and
depth perception, which studies have shown leads to greater accuracy and
speed, and ultimately may result in better patient outcomes.
Bariatric surgery patients at Jupiter Medical Center’s Institute
for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery lose, on average, 60 to 70 percent
of their excess body weight in twelve to eighteen months after surgery.
Beyond the weight loss, bariatric surgery has been proven to reduce, and
even eliminate, certain co-morbidities such as diabetes, high blood pressure,
sleep apnea, asthma, arthritis, cholesterol abnormalities, gastroesophageal
reflux disease, fatty liver disease, venous stasis, urinary stress incontinence and more.
The gold standard for bariatric surgical procedures is laparoscopic gastric
bypass. In addition to this technique, Dr. Vaughan also performs traditional
gastric bypass as well as sleeve gastrectomy.
About Jupiter Medical Center
A not-for-profit 327-bed regional medical center consisting of 207 private
acute-care hospital beds and 120 long-term care, sub-acute rehabilitation
and Hospice beds, Jupiter Medical Center is reimagining how to restore
the community’s health and wellness. Award-winning physicians, world-class
partnerships and innovative techniques and technology enable Jupiter Medical
Center to provide a broad range of services with specialty concentrations
in cardiology, oncology, imaging, orthopedics & spine, digestive health,
emergency services, lung & thoracic, women’s health, weight
management and men’s health.
Founded in 1979, Jupiter Medical Center has approximately 1,500 team members,
575 physicians and 640 volunteers. Jupiter Medical Center continues to
perform in the top 10 percent of hospitals for patient quality and satisfaction.
For more information on Jupiter Medical Center, please call 561 263-2234 or visit
Jupitermed.com.