Monument Health Spearfish Hospital earns national accreditation for metabolic, bariatric surgery

SPEARFISH, S.D. (Dec. 13, 2021) – Monument Health Spearfish Hospital has been designated a MBSAQIP Accredited Comprehensive Center by the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program, a national organization.

MBSAQIP is a joint program of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS). It affirms that the hospital’s bariatric patients receive multidisciplinary medical care, which improves patient outcomes and long-term success. In addition, accredited centers offer preoperative and postoperative care designed specifically for patients with obesity.

Also known as weight-loss surgery, bariatric procedures work by changing the anatomy of the patient’s digestive system or by causing different physiological changes to the patient’s energy balance and fat metabolism.

“Metabolic and bariatrics patients require a special type of care, both before and after surgery. We’ve made sure that we’re providing everything these patients need,” said surgeon Andrew VanOsdol, M.D., who leads the bariatrics program at Spearfish Hospital. “This accreditation is a tribute to the hard work of the surgical staff and recognition of the great outcomes we’ve been able to achieve.” 

To earn accreditation, the Spearfish bariatrics program met essential criteria for staffing, training, facility infrastructure and patient care pathways that ensure its ability to support patients with obesity. Spearfish Hospital underwent an extensive site visit by an experienced bariatric surgeon who reviewed the center’s structure, processes, and clinical outcomes data.

Monument Health Spearfish Hospital’s bariatrics program is one of two programs in South Dakota that are accredited by the MBSAQIP. The other is at Sanford Health in Sioux Falls.