Bariatric Centers of America is a network of weight loss programs on a mission to make quality patient care more accessible and easy to navigate. We partner with weight loss clinics across the country to provide seamless and accessible care to all bariatric patients. Our programs and our doctors are committed to curing the disease of obesity through human-centered care, modern-day surgery techniques, smart technology, and continuous patient education.
ABOUT
We believe in a better, healthier
way to improve the bariatric patient experience.
ABOUT US
A streamlined approach to bariatric patient care.
Our Story
Bariatric Centers of America was born in 2019 when weight loss surgeon, Dr. Mike Blaney, began to recognize the gaps in bariatric patient care across different programs and across the country. He realized that many weight loss clinics lacked patient education and a streamlined approach to your patient journey.
We saw the need for improved patient access to bariatric centers and a well-managed approach to the weight loss surgery journey that delights and engages patients along the way. In 2020, we set out to build H.E.R.O Programs across the southeast.
The weight loss surgeons we partner with share a common practice and desire to treat the bariatric patient. We pride ourselves in only working with surgeons who are experienced and well-recognized within their community.
OUR MISSION
To create healthier communities by providing weight loss clinics and bariatric programs with the resources they need to stop the cycle of obesity.
We believe all patients, regardless of where they live or the resources they have, deserve access to quality bariatric patient care.
HEALTHY EFFORTS TO REDUCE OBESITY
Accessible bariatric patient care.
At Bariatric Centers of America, we make finding and connecting with a weight loss program easier. We partner with weight loss clinics across America to provide seamless and accessible care to all bariatric patients.
Standard of Care
We believe in the power of education and shared decision making to help patients lose weight and regain their health. Our surgeons and their care team are dedicated to guiding you to success throughout your weight loss journey.
Our Approach to Bariatric Patient Care
- Education is Fundamental
- Whole-Body Approach
- Compassionate State of the Art Care
Education is Fundamental
We emphasize the importance of education as the foundation for a healthier community.
Whole-Body Approach
We aim to cure the disease of obesity from all angles—medical, nutritional, physical, and psychological.
Compassionate State of the Art Care
We are committed to providing comprehensive, compassionate, and state-of-the-art care through our network of bariatric clinics.
Best in Class Bariatric Surgeons
We only partner with board-certified bariatric surgeons who are skilled in performing all weight loss surgery procedures. This allows us to practice bariatric medicine the way it should be practiced—with a commitment to patient education, modern-day surgery techniques, and smart technology.
BOARD-CERTIFIED
BARIATRIC FELLOWSHIP TRAINED
OPERATE AT CENTER OF EXCELLENCE FACILITIES
How we vet our surgeons
At Bariatric Centers of America, we pride ourselves in working with the most qualified surgeons in your community. We are committed to delivering the highest quality of patient care in and out of the operating room.
Before we introduce a bariatric surgeon to our network, we thoroughly evaluate their credentials based on the following criteria. Each Bariatric practice and physician employee as a part of the BCA network:
1. Be an active member of the American Society for Metabolic and the Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS)
2. Must adhere to ASMBS standards as defined by the standards manual published and revised by ASMBS.
3. Should be able to perform all standard bariatric procedures (Gastric Bypass, Gastric Sleeve, Duodenal Switch/Loop Duodenal Switch, Gastric Band) at or above the medical standard of care for Bariatric surgery services in their state and in accordance with the ASMBS best practice guidelines.
4. Will refer cases requiring technical or medical skills beyond the personal capacity of the physician to a properly qualified physician, who shall be approved in advance by BCA’s medical director in his reasonably exercised discretion.
5. Assist all patients across the weight spectrum within the technical and patient load capacity of the practice, and refer those patients to affiliates of BCA for other medical and lifestyle services needed for continuing care, when possible and medically appropriate.
6. Accept all insurance payers, or will refer patients to a properly qualified physician, who shall be approved in advance by BCA’s medical director in his reasonably exercised discretion, and who shall be “in-network” with the patient’s insurance payer.
7. Generally not perform operations the surgical community clearly considers experimental unless under protocol and pursuant to a clinical trial subject to the Common Rule or the oversight of a properly-constituted IRB, in each case to be approved prior to enrollment by BCA’s medical director in his reasonably exercised discretion.
8. Be affiliated with and provide bariatric surgery services only at a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence or (with the advance approval of BCA’s medical director in his reasonably exercised discretion) at an acute care general hospital actively pursuing a Center of Excellence designation.
9. Be board-certified or eligible for board certification (and complete board certification within twelve (12) months of the effective date of this Agreement) in both General Surgery and Bariatric Medicine.
