Tammy Fouse, DO
Chair
Curtis Peery, MD FASMBS
Co-Chair
Corrigan McBride, MD MBA FACS FASMBS
Executive Council Liaison
Members
Stephanie Cox, PhD ABPP
Bree Dewing, MD
Frank Felts, MD FASMBS
Rama Rao Ganga, MBBS
Luis Garcia, MD FACS MBA, Senior Past Chair
Ashley Gerrish, MD
Magdy Giurgius, MD
Brandon Helbling, MD FASMBS
Kevin Helling, MD FASMBS, Immediate Past Chair
Linden Karas, MD
Megan Lundgren, MD
Howard McCollister, MD
John Pender, MD
Walter Pories, MD
Arnold Salzberg, MD FACS
Raza Shariff, MD
Jessica Smith, MD
James Taggart, MD
Andrew Van Osdol, MD
Ellen Vogels, DO
Andrew Wheeler, MD FASMBS
Kashif Zuberi, MD
ASMBS Staff Liaison
Leslie Vinson
Mission
To represent the rural bariatric surgical practices, foster and promote best care practices, identify challenges unique to the rural setting, and facilitate potential solutions.
Description
The committee is composed of surgeons and integrated health professionals who provide care to bariatric patients in a rural or isolated setting. Members of the committee will advise the Executive Council on trends of practice and issues unique to rural bariatric surgeons. This will facilitate a proactive approach to resolving programmatic and clinic issues pertaining to the rural surgery setting. The committee serves as a resource for rural surgical practices to achieve high quality comprehensive programs in a rural setting.
Objectives
- To identify rural bariatric surgical practices
- To represent the interests of metabolic and bariatric surgery in a rural setting
- To identify the challenges unique to rural practitioners in the field of metabolic and bariatric surgery
- To provide a template of collaboration to improve the care of the bariatric patient in the rural setting
- To provide practice- or evidence-based solutions to these challenges
- To define best practice guidelines and best standards of care in rural environments
- To offer advice and support in recruitment, retention, mentoring, and post-residency/fellowship education to assure quality surgical care for rural bariatric patients
- To address financial and business challenges of rural practitioners
- To advocate for and support the accreditation of bariatric centers in rural America
- To develop and maintain resources for existing rural accredited centers that provide care for bariatric patients
- To improve access to care for the Bariatric patient in rural settings
Committee Goals
Short-Term
- Define inclusion criteria of what constitutes a rural bariatric surgery practice; come to a consensus of a definition that is recognized by insurances
- Determine barriers for MBSAQIP accreditation
- Continue to grow committee membership
- Utilize the Rural Bariatric Surgery Facebook Group
Mid-Term
- Begin data collection for research project
- Collect survey data, review and begin to address barriers to accreditation in smaller, rural programs
Long-Term
- Based on survey outcomes, assist rural practices in meeting accreditation standards
- Participation of all rural practices in MBSAQIP and ASMBS
- Publish data in peer reviewed source that reports our outcomes in rural vs urban centers
- Mentorship pathway for committee members into ASMBS leadership/EC
Specific Projects that Achieve Goals and Objectives
Short-Term
- Outlining a research project that will report outcomes in rural centers compared to urban centers and demonstrate safety and durability of surgical procedures; identifying an IRB that will enable us to accumulate data
- New members added throughout the year including members in a rural setting and members whose patients come from a rural setting
- Reinvigorating the Rural Bariatric Surgery Facebook Group to foster improved communication and support between surgeons
Mid-Term
- Utilize the outcomes data from the research project to address barriers to accreditation in rural programs and to demonstrate safety and durability of surgical procedures at those programs
Long-Term
- Our current goals are based on our future survey
- Continued participation of committee members in committees of broader reach; Past Chair is a member of the Access to Care Committee
2021-2022 Completed Projects
- Defined inclusion criteria of what constitutes a rural bariatric surgery practice to come to a consensus on a definition that is recognized by insurance
- Began a survey to collect data for a research project that will report outcomes in rural centers compared to urban centers and demonstrate safety and durability of surgical procedures; identifying an IRB that will enable us to accumulate data for a project
- Continued to promote the reinvigoration of the Rural Bariatric Surgery Facebook Group to foster improved communication and support between surgeons