Integrated Health Multidisciplinary Care Committee

Brooke Doucet, RN CBN
Chair

Nicole Franklin, PsyD
Co-Chair

Janelle Coughlin, PhD
IHEC Liaison

Members

Anita Baird, RN BSN CBN
Genna Hymowitz, PhD, Senior Past Chair
Eva Panigrahi, PhD
Kate Rountree, RDN LDN
Colleen Schreyer, PhD, Immediate Past Chair
Dawn Stepnowski, DNP APN-C
Judith Summers, PA-C
Kalyn True, RD LD
Catherine Tuppo, PT MS CLT-LANA
Mae Zoltowsky, RN BSN CPHQ

Staff Liaison

Leslie Vinson

Mission

The mission of the committee is to provide evidence-based support for the role of the team members in the care of long-term success of the bariatric surgical patient. The committee is comprised of each integrated team member including exercise, behavioral health, nursing, nutrition, surgery, and obesity medicine.

Description

This committee is comprised of a representative from specialties that comprise the integrated team; behavioral health, nursing, nutrition, surgeons and obesity medicine. The goal of the committee is to investigate what literature has been published regarding the role of the team members in the care and long-term success of the bariatric surgical patient.

Objectives

  • Define optimal multidisciplinary approach to surgical care
  • Evaluate current evidence and identify knowledge gaps regarding the impact of multidisciplinaryapproach on patient outcomes

Committee Goals

  1. Create a pilot Mentorship Program to for ASMBS IH members
  2. Host two webinars per year for the IH community
  3. OAC Walk from Obesity Articles
  4. Increase committee membership by having all integrated health specialties – ongoing
  5. Continue to contribute to the IH Toolkit on the Active ASMBS IH Members Only Facebook page – Collaboration with IH Clinical Issues Committee – ongoing

Specific Projects that Achieve Goals and Objectives

  1. IH Pilot Mentorship Program in Progress:
    • Utilized IH Mentorship Webinar (Spring 2023) and QR code/committee member presence at AM23 IH events to evaluate and discuss mentorship needs among ASMBS IH members
    • Collected Mentor and Mentee applications; matched and contacted pairs
    • Developing a satisfaction survey and guidelines around mentor engagement expectations and consequences for non-compliance
    • Updating the mentorship survey
    • Recruiting 2025 Applicants at the 2024 Annual Meeting
    • Coordinating a Mentorship Reception with the Diversity & Inclusion Committee’s Mentorship Program at 2024 Annual Meeting
    • Will manage for one year and then asses program
  2. Planning a Spring 2024 Webinar on Community Partnerships in Obesity Treatment
  3. Members will write quarterly articles for the OAC’s Walk from Obesity beginning March 2024
  4. The committee consists of a member from each IH specialty and recruits new members as positions become available
  5. Will continue to create and share IH Toolkit resources as needed

2023-2024 Completed Projects

  1. Launch of the IH Mentorship Program in June 2023 at the Annual Meeting with completion of pairing December 2023 and beginning of mentoring January 2024

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