Northwest Medical Center–Springdale and Roller Weight Loss & Advanced Surgery, working together, have become the fifth center in the country to be named a Center of Excellence (COE) for bariatric surgery by the Employers Centers of Excellence Network (ECEN). The qualifications for ECEN surgeons and medical centers are based on excellent outcomes, low complication rates, high quality, and value-based care. The program is designed to grant employees of participating businesses – including Walmart – access to the highest quality care and health plan innovation in the United States.
In the United States, around 15.5 million people suffer from severe obesity, according to the National Institutes of Health, and the numbers continue to increase. Obesity increases the risks of morbidity and mortality because of the diseases and conditions that are commonly associated with it, such as type II diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and cancer, among other health risks. Metabolic and bariatric surgical procedures have proven to be effective in the reduction of comorbid conditions related to severe obesity.*
Walmart's Centers of Excellence (COE) program changes lives by partnering with top specialists for certain serious medical conditions and procedures to give its employees easy access to the very best, most appropriate care possible, according to its website.
“Being able to access nationally-recognized care close to home is a huge blessing for Northwest Arkansas,” said Denten Park, Market CEO for Northwest Health. “We are grateful for the opportunity to serve along with the wonderful bariatric surgeons at Roller Weight Loss to deliver exceptional outcomes to our neighbors.”