Franciscan Health Center For Bariatric Surgery Olympia Fields Earns National Accreditation

OLYMPIA FIELDS, Illinois - Gerald A. Cahill, MD, board-certified surgeon and Medical Director of the Franciscan Health Center for Bariatric Surgery in Olympia Fields, announced that the bariatric surgery center has been accredited as a Center by the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP®), a joint Quality Program of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS).

To earn MBSAQIP Accreditation, the Franciscan Health Center for Bariatric Surgery met essential criteria for staffing, training, facility infrastructure and patient care pathways, ensuring its ability to support patients with obesity. The center also participates in a national data registry that yields semiannual reports on the quality of its surgical outcomes and identifying opportunities for quality improvement.

Chicago Southland patients seeking surgical treatment for obesity and its related conditions have a high-quality choice for receiving care at a nationally accredited program that meets the highest standards for patient safety and quality.

"Our goal is to provide excellent, personalized, safe care for patients requesting weight-loss surgery," Dr. Cahill said. "I strive to help every patient to achieve a realistic goal weight, a resolution of medical problems, a positive attitude about their health and an overall improved lifestyle."

Dr. Cahill has dedicated his practice to weight loss surgery and specializes in minimally invasive surgical (laparoscopic) techniques for the treatment of obesity. Performing more than 8,000 successful weight loss surgeries, since 1998, Dr. Cahill is among the most experienced bariatric surgeon in Chicagoland.

To earn MBSAQIP Accreditation, the Franciscan Health Center for Bariatric Surgery Olympia Fields completed an extensive site visit by an experienced bariatric surgeon who reviewed the center's structure, processes, and clinical outcomes data. Centers that earn accreditation are awarded a specific designation level, depending on how many patients it serves annually, critical care capabilities, the types of procedures provided, and whether it provides care to patients under the age of 18.