Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association Name Area Hospitals as 2008 Blue Distinction Centers for Bari...( PITTSBURGH June 2 /- The Blue Cro...),Health

PITTSBURGH, June 2 /PRNewswire/ -- The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) has designated six area hospitals as Blue Distinction Centers (BDC) for Bariatric Care for 2008.

According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the total number of bariatric surgeries increased 400 percent from 1998 to 2004. Obesity is widely recognized as a contributor to serious health risks, so bariatric surgery is being considered as a means to help some individuals reduce extreme obesity.

These hospitals provide a full range of bariatric surgery care services, including inpatient care, post-operative care, outpatient follow-up and patient education.

"Blue Distinction puts a high value on research and evidence-based health and medical information," says Carey Vinson, MD, Vice President, Quality and Medical Performance Management at Highmark. "Blue Distinction Centers show our commitment to working with doctors and hospitals to identify leading institutions that meet clinically validated quality standards and deliver better overall outcomes in patient care."

The hospitals that have earned this designation are:

-- Allegheny General Hospital

-- Hamot Medical Center

-- Magee Womens Hospital

-- Sewickley Valley Hospital

-- The Western Pennsylvania Hospital

-- UPMC St. Margaret

These hospitals have met numerous selection criteria thresholds necessary to be named as a Blue Distinction Center for Bariatric Surgery, including:

-- full-service inpatient hospital facility

-- full accreditation by The Joint Commission or Healthcare Facilities

Accreditation Program

-- performed bariatric surgery for the most recent 12-month period and met

a required volume of bariatric surgical cases

-- experience and credentialing of the bariatric surgical team

-- appropriate equipment and staffing

-- documented policies and procedures for
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