Jefferson Health NJ’s Bariatric Surgery Program Earns Top Designation as Blue Distinction® Center for Bariatric Surgery

VOORHEES, NJ, January 6, 2021 — Jefferson Health – New Jersey has been recognized with a Blue Distinction^® Centers for Bariatric Surgery designation as part of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association’s Blue Distinction Specialty Care program. Blue Distinction Centers are nationally designated healthcare facilities that show a commitment to delivering high-quality patient safety and better health outcomes, based on objective measures developed with input from the medical community and leading accreditation/quality organizations.

Jefferson Health – New Jersey – a participating facility in Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey’s network – earned this designation by meeting the rigorous Blue Distinction Center quality selection criteria for bariatric surgery. To receive this designation, a healthcare facility must demonstrate success in meeting patient safety measures, as well as bariatric-specific quality measures, including complication and readmission rate for laparoscopic procedures in sleeve gastrectomy, gastric bypass, and adjustable gastric band. All designated facilities must also be nationally accredited at both the facility and bariatric program-specific levels.

“We have performed nearly 4,500 bariatric weight-loss procedures since our program was established in 2007,” said Jefferson New Jersey Bariatric Program Medical Director Marc Neff, MD, FACS. “We are proud to earn this prestigious designation in recognition of our continual commitment to patient safety and quality.”

Bariatric surgeries are among the most common elective surgeries in the U.S. — with more than 252,000 bariatric surgeries performed in 2018, based on a report from the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS).¹ Furthermore, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that nearly 42.7% of U.S. adults and 18.5% of youth are obese and impacted by obesity-related health conditions.² With obesity reaching epidemic levels among U.S. adults, a significant opportunity exists to improve quality care for bariatric surgeries within the national healthcare system.

About Jefferson Health: Jefferson Health, home of Sidney Kimmel Medical College, is reimagining health care in the greater Philadelphia region and southern New Jersey. Jefferson’s dedicated team of doctors, nurses, health professionals, and staff provides a range of primary to highly-specialized care through 14 hospitals (seven are Magnet®-designated by the ANCC for nursing excellence), more than 40 outpatient and urgent care locations, the NCI-designated Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, Magee Rehabilitation and the JeffConnect® telemedicine program. For 2020-2021, Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals is ranked among the nation’s best hospitals in nine specialities by U.S. News & World Report. Jefferson Health’s mission is to improve the lives of patients in the communities it is privileged to serve through safe, effective, equitable, compassionate care.

All companies and trademarks listed above are the property of their respective owners and used for identification purposes only, and are in no way associated or affiliated with the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. Use of these trademarks does not imply endorsement. The Blue Cross^® and Blue Shield^® names and symbols and Blue Distinction^® are registered trademarks of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.

About Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, the state’s oldest and largest health insurer is a tax-paying, not-for-profit health service corporation, providing a wide array of medical, dental, vision and prescription insurance products and services. Horizon BCBSNJ is leading the transformation of health care in New Jersey by working with doctors and hospitals to deliver innovative, patient-centered programs that reward the quality, not quantity, of care patients receive. Learn more at www.HorizonBlue.com. Horizon BCBSNJ is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association serving nearly 3.6 million members.

About the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association
The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association is a national federation of 36 independent, community-based and locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies that collectively provide health care coverage for one in three Americans. BCBSA provides health care insights through The Health of America Report series and the national BCBS Health Index^SM. For more information on BCBSA and its member companies, please visit bcbs.com. We also encourage you to connect with us on Facebook, check out our videos on YouTube, follow us on Twitter and check out our blog.

About Blue Distinction Centers
Blue Distinction Centers (BDC) met overall quality measures, developed with input from the medical community. A Local Blue Plan may require additional criteria for providers located in its own service area; for details, contact your Local Blue Plan. Blue Distinction Centers+ (BDC+) also met cost measures that address consumers’ need for affordable healthcare. Each provider’s cost of care is evaluated using data from its Local Blue Plan. Providers in CA, ID, NY, PA, and WA may lie in two Local Blue Plans’ areas, resulting in two evaluations for cost of care; and their own Local Blue Plans decide whether one or both cost of care evaluation(s) must meet BDC+ national criteria. National criteria for BDC and BDC+ are displayed on www.bcbs.com. Individual outcomes may vary. For details on a provider’s in-network status or your own policy’s coverage, contact your Local Blue Plan and ask your provider before making an appointment. Neither Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association nor any Blue Plans are responsible for noncovered charges or other losses or damages resulting from Blue Distinction or other provider finder information or care received from Blue Distinction or other providers.

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