Living Life Over 20,000 lbs Lighter: MHP’s Bariatric Patients Hit A Weight Loss Milestone

January 28, 2005—Patients of Mercy Health Partners bariatric program have hit a weight loss milestone. The group, now consisting of 304 patients, has lost a combined total of just over 21,000 lbs. Imagine 42,750 regular sized candy bars piled up—this is the equivalent of 21,375 lbs. And that number is growing as the patients continue to trim down.

This is a huge success for the program, which began in January of 2003. The program was put together under the direction of Dr. Brian Gluck, who assembled a multidisciplinary team of specially trained nurses, a dietician, a social worker, an exercise physiologist and psychologists. This team was set up to work with the patients both before and after their surgery. This approach has proven effective and can be attributed as an essential part of the patients’ success.

“I believe our program is successful because of our comprehensive team of health professionals, a focus on excellence in patient care, our compassion for this patient population, and the expertise of our bariatric surgeon, Dr. Gluck,” said Judy Crouch, RN, MSN, APRN, BC, Weight Management & Bariatrics Nurse Practitioner.

One such patient is Marcia Herring. Marcia had bariatric surgery 14 months ago and has since lost 140 lbs. “This has been such a blessing,” said Marcia Herring. “Things have really changed for me. I used to dread shopping and now I can go to regular stores and buy my clothes. Before the surgery I had bad knees and hips, and my blood pressure and cholesterol were too high. Now I can do yard work and housework on my own. I can even run up stairs without any problems.”

Marcia attributes much of her success to the follow up and support she has received from the entire bariatric team. “I know I can call Dr. Gluck and his staff 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” added Marcia. “The bariatric team takes this just as seriously as the patients.”

In addition to losing a significant amount of weight Marcia’s life has changed in other ways. “I have started a quarterly newsletter for MHP’s bariatric patients, it is for patients, by patients,” said Marcia. “I also work out now, 3-5 times per week at the Mercy H.E.A.R.T. Center. There is a group of us bariatric patients that meet to work out, we support one another. A few of the heart patients there say we inspire them.”

“Everyone on the bariatric team respects each of these patients for making a decision to focus on health improvement through bariatric surgery. With the behavior changes they have made, their life-threatening health problems related to obesity have been either improved or resolved. It is amazing to witness these people being reborn, with new hope and a love of life, and we applaud them for their efforts,” added Crouch. “The ultimate goal of the entire team is the success of each and every patient under our care . . . reaching milestones of this magnitude is a bonus, and we look forward to reaching many more.”

Bariatric surgery is a procedure done to reduce excessive weight by either restricting food intake or by combining a restrictive procedure with one that decreases the bodies ability to absorb calories, as is accomplished with the Gastric Bypass Roux-en-Y procedure performed at MHP’s Mercy Campus. Dr. Gluck is trained in both open and laparoscopic surgery procedures. For more information please visit www.MHP.com or call 1.866.WEIGHOK.