St. Luke's Bariatric Surgery
A Designated Center of Excellence
Surgical Excellence Leads to National Designation
The St. Luke’s Bariatric Surgery program is a hospital-based weight loss surgery program, serving patients from Boise to Twin Falls, from Oregon to Nevada, and throughout our region. The St. Luke’s Bariatric Surgery program was established to provide a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to the treatment of this disease. The program features the expertise and experience of W. Christian Oakley, MD, the first surgeon to perform minimally invasive (laparoscopic) weight loss surgery in Idaho, and who has performed more than 1,000 operations since 2001; Robert Korn, MD, PhD, who has performed more than 500 procedures since 2003; specially trained bariatric nurses and operating room personnel from St. Luke’s; and the special facilities and technology that bariatric surgery requires.
The bariatric team at St. Luke’s was recognized in 2006 as a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence by the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS). This designation is awarded to programs with a proven track record of favorable outcomes for weight loss surgery and a comprehensive commitment to high quality bariatric care. The importance of the ASMBS Center of Excellence designation was emphasized by the federal government in its Medicare national coverage determination in 2006, which ruled that Medicare patients could receive bariatric surgery only in ASMBS Centers of Excellence. To earn a Center of Excellence designation, St. Luke’s underwent a site inspection during which all aspects of our program’s surgical processes were closely examined, and data on health outcomes was collected.
The St. Luke’s Bariatric Surgery program offers you the best mix of professionalism and caring: the small-town character that goes with the Boise community, and the expertise found at only the best institutions in the country – which is validated by our Center of Excellence designation. From the surgeons, to the specially trained surgery nursing staff, to the certified bariatric nurse program coordinator, dietitian, physical therapist, social worker, and operating room personnel, we are committed to safety and excellence.
