Women & Children’s Hospital New Blue Distinction Center for Bariatric Surgery

LAKE CHARLES, LA (July 10, 2008) – Women & Children's Hospital received the designation of Blue Distinction Center for Bariatric SurgerySM in Louisiana from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana. Women & Children’s Hospital is one of two hospitals in the state to receive this designation for 2008/2009.

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association’s Blue Distinction designation program complements national efforts to improve quality of care. Women & Children's Hospital has a dedicated team in place that provides a full range of bariatric surgical care services including inpatient care, post-operative care, follow-up and patient education.

As part of the eligibility determination process, facilities had to complete a detailed clinical request for information (RFI) survey, which reported their structure, process and outcome measures. Reported information was then reviewed and ranked. The facility was then scored on its delivery of quality healthcare. Women & Children's Hospital received 97 of 100 points in this ranking.

Blue Distinction Designations are awarded by local Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies to medical facilities that have demonstrated expertise in delivering quality healthcare. The two goals of the program are:

• Engaging consumers to enable them to make a more informed healthcare decision, and
• Collaborating with providers to improve overall quality outcomes and affordability.

Nationally, there are 800 specialty centers in 42 states that have been recognized for providing quality care. These specialty areas include: cardiac care, bariatric surgery, transplants and complex and rare cancers. This program is raising the quality of care being delivered across the country by recognizing medical facilities that meet objective, evidence-based thresholds for clinical quality developed in collaboration with expert clinicians and leading professional organizations.

For more on Blue Distinction, visit http://www.bcbs.com/innovations/bluedistinction/centers/