Military Committee

MEMBERS

Eric Ahnfeldt, DO FACS FASMBS, Senior Past Chair
Michael Barker, MD FASMBS (VA)
Joel Brockmeyer, MD FASMBS, Immediate Past Chair
Ghazali Chaudry, MD FACS FASMBS
Susan Clark, MD
Dan Eisenberg, MD (VA)
Byron Faler, MD FACS

Brenton Franklin, MD MHPE FACS
Kyle Gadbois, MD
Tricia Goins, RN CBN (VA)
Monique Hassan, MD FACS
Marcelo Hinojosa, MD FASMBS

Torbjorg Holtestaul MD
Brittany Howard, PA-C
Joseph Lee, MD
Leah Loomis, DNP ACNP-BC CBN (VA)
Kevan Mann, MD
Christopher Porta, MD FACS

Michael Logan Rawlins, MD FACS
Zachary Taylor, DO
Gordon Wisbach, MD MBA FACS FASMBS, Senior Past Chair
Tamara Worlton, MD
Christopher Yheulon, MD

ASMBS STAFF LIAISON

Leslie Vinson

Mission

• To advocate for the health care policy that ensures patient access to high quality prevention and treatment of obesity
• To foster communication between health professionals on obesity and related conditions
• To be a highly valued specialty society that serves the educational and professional needs of its diverse membership

Description

The Military Committee supports the uniformed services and their members through ASMBS to provide a collaborative forum committed to improving the care of the bariatric patient within the military/Tricare system and VA Healthcare Systems. This committee’s focus is to advance the science of metabolic and bariatric surgery through a robust research consortium. The Military Committee also focuses on establishing a collective within Military Treatment Facilities (MTFs) and VA Hospitals, creating uniform pathways among centers, and having MBSAQIP/VASQIP participation, respectfully.

Objectives

• Aid all major MTFs in becoming MBSAQIP accredited
• Quality improvement initiatives with State Chapters, Quality Improvement and Patient Safety and Research Committees
• Be a consortium to enhance care by sharing information
• Improve communication between military and VA members and ASMBS
• Identify needs and opportunities for improvement for military hospitals and VA Hospital System
• Offer CME credits to deployed military ASMBS members
• Support the unique aspects of VA beneficiaries and enhance the relationship between military resources and VA facilities

Committee Goals

1. Recommend Military Committee members to participate on other ASMBS committees & panels
2. Assist ASMBS VA members with bariatric surgery access, patient care, and patient throughput issues
3. Weight Loss Medication Project within the Defense Health Agency (DHA) and VA hospitals
4. VA/DOD Integrated Health Section Journal Club
5. Utilize ASMBS Sleeve Gastrectomy Care Pathway to standardized care pathways between military facilities
6. MBSAQIP accreditation for all major MTFs utilizing a Clinical Reviewer as data collection administrator for multiple centers
7. Create centralized, standardized best practices for all military and VA bariatric surgery institutions’ bariatric programs
8. Foster continued growth of a Military and VA Research Collaborations
9. Traumatic Brain Injury Research Project
10. Improve access to care for endorsed weight loss procedures for active-duty members, i.e., intragastric balloons
11. DHA Advisory Committee on bariatric surgery in the DOD
12. Surgical Telementoring/Coaching between centers
13. Determine avenues for earning CME for deployed surgeons including ASMBS Annual Meeting on Demand at no cost for ASMBS active-duty members
14. Military and VA members to become ASMBS Fellows and MBSAQIP verified surgeons
15. Maintain the Military and VA Bariatric Network directories of who, what kind, and volume regarding bariatrics at their centers
16. Repository for shared military documents

Specific Projects that Achieve Goals and Objectives

1. Weight Loss Medication Project in progress
2. VA/DOD Integrated Health Section Journal Club formed
3. Implementation of ASMBS Sleeve Care Pathway at military facilities and encouragement of participation in the ASMBS Quality Improvement Initiative project: Sleeve Gastrectomy Care Pathway
4. Standardized Outpatient Sleeve Pathway in place at Madigan Army Medical Center; encouraging other centers to utilize it
5. Continue to meet with DHA regarding centralized funding and letter of necessity, i.e. the “White Paper”; DHA strongly supports funding of all MTF’s to participate in MBSAQIP
6. Continue to obtain updates from committee members assigned to other committees in order to “cross-talk” to participate/achieve goals/prepare MTFs to participate in the ASMBS Quality Improvement Initiative when organized
7. Continue Military Research Task Force utilizing Bariatric Research Resident secured at Beaumont and Eisenhower Army Medical Center to be used at all centers
8. Drafting of IRB registry for innovative bariatric procedures in the Military
9. DOD Intragastric Balloons – program started at Naval Medical Center San Diego
10. DHA Advisory Committee on bariatric surgery in the DOD; recommend that leadership on both committees (ASMBS and DHA) be the same
11. Surgical Telementoring/Coaching implemented at Naval Medical Center San Diego
12. Using ASMBS, SOARD primarily online, and hard copies where internet is deficient, and webinars, when deployed to receive CME; possible use of ASMBS Annual Meeting On Demand for free
13. Maintaining Military and VA Bariatric Networks and repository

2023-2024 Completed Projects

1. Updated Military and VA Bariatric Networks throughout the year to support communication between programs
2. With the support of ASMBS leadership:
   • ASMBS Active Duty Military members now receive reduced registration at the ASMBS meetings
   • ASMBS physician and integrated health section VA members now receive same yearly membership rate as Active Duty Military
3. Surgical Telementoring/Coaching implemented at Naval Medical Center San Diego continues to grow
4. DHA Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Steering Committee to increase MBSAQIP Accreditation throughout the DOD MTFs formed

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