Bariatric Care Centre Officially Opens

Written by Press Release on 14 December 2010

THUNDER BAY, ON – Wednesday, December 1, 2010, the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre celebrated the launch of their Regional Bariatric Care Centre, an integrated Regional Assessment and Treatment Centre for the pre and post-operative care of patients with obesity requiring gastric bypass surgery.

“Today’s announcement for the Regional Bariatric Care Centre is yet another milestone in our development as a Health Sciences Centre. Here in Northwestern Ontario, we have the second-highest obesity rate of any region in Ontario and almost one in four struggle with obesity. Today’s announcement is important for our patients and families because we now have a Bariatric Care Centre. We have a “closer to home” option and that is a good thing for lots of reasons. Once again, we are showing everyone how to develop great partnerships for the betterment of patient care.

Andrée Robichaud
President & CEO Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre

The interdisciplinary design and focus of the Regional Bariatric Care Centre is a huge step forward for our region in terms of improving our ability to manage obesity and its comorbidities. Our interdisciplinary group will not only prepare patients for a safe surgery but also provide intensive post-operative management to reduce both early and late complications of the disease.”

Dr. Abu-Bakare
Endocrinologist/Medical Director – Bariatric Care Centre

“The introduction of the Bariatric Care Centre improves access to care, bringing pre and post- operative care and medical follow-up to Northwestern Ontario. With an initial investment of $1.53 Million in operating funds and $427K in start-up capital investment, TBRHSC joins one other Regional Bariatric Assessment Centre in the province and five full Bariatric Centres of Excellence in Ontario. We are proud of the Care Centre we have been able to develop, as it is the FIRST service at TBRHSC built on the PFCC values and input. Developing a centre from the very start with the consultation, input and perspective of patients/families who have experienced such care, only serves to improve our care.”

Dr. Rhonda Crocker-Ellacott
VP ER, Critical Care, Trauma & Surgery, & CNE

Obesity holds no boundaries… it can affect anyone of any age, culture or income bracket…Gastric Bypass surgery saved my life and will save others…I have seen miraculous changes in people. I have seen people at their lowest turn their lives around and become healthy in mind, body and spirit and become excited about their lives again. Our new Care Centre will assist clients by preparing them for surgery and then following them post-operatively for five years. I am humbled to have been able to take part in helping the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre develop their Regional Bariatric Care Centre”.

Verna Dubray
Patient Family Advisor – Bariatric Care Centre

Facts about our Care Centre:

Opened in July as the second Regional Assessment and Treatment Centre in the province and the first in Northern Ontario, which work together with the five Centres of Excellence to provide treatment options for obesity.
New funding of $1.53 Million over two years in operating funds and $427,000 in one-time start-up capital was provided to TBRHSC to build and operate the Care Centre.
We are a member of the Ontario Bariatric Network and have a seat on the Provincial Bariatric Advisory Board.
The Care Centre is built with an interdisciplinary focus to provide optimum care to patients facing obesity. There are 7.5 FTE employed by the Care Centre, including a Nurse Practitioner, Psychologist, Social Worker, Kinesiologist as well as two Registered Dietitians, Clerical and Managerial support.
The Care Centre is a part of the Department of Internal Medicine and is supported by a Medical Director. The Department of Internal Medicine collaborates with Care Centre staff and the Nurse Practitioner to ensure that a patient is ready for surgery and has appropriate follow-up and medical management post-surgery.
The purpose of the Care Centre is to assess and prepare patients for Bariatric Surgery. The surgery will then be performed at a Centre of Excellence, St. Joseph’s Healthcare in Hamilton, Ontario, which is our primary referral site. The Care Centre then follows post-surgical patients for at least five years to ensure long-term success. As well, the Care Centre will provide resources to those who are not a candidate for surgery.
The Care Centre was built with the assumption of seeing 225 new referrals in the first year of operation and 200 every year after that. To date, in the first five months of operation, we have received over 300 referrals and 150 patients have had their first visit to the Care Centre. We expect to start sending the first patients to Hamilton for surgery early in the New Year (2011).
The assessment and follow-up process for each patient is very intense and the workload is great. Each patient who proceeds to surgery is then followed for five years and can expect to visit the Care Centre 12 times on average.

The Referral Process:

In order to become a patient of the Care Centre, you must be referred to the clinic by a Physician or a Nurse Practitioner. As of October 8, 2010, all patient referrals must be processed through the Ontario Bariatric Registry. The aim of the Ontario-based Bariatric Registry project is to improve the care of patients with obesity and increase the effectiveness of healthcare dollars. The centralized referral process will collect standard referral data on all patients, and direct their referral to their nearest bariatric centre. For further information please go to www.bariatricregistry.ca

Patient and Family Centred Care:

This Care Centre was the first new service to be built at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre from the ground-up following the philosophy and practice of Patient and Family Centred Care.
Our Patient Family Advisor, Verna Dubray was a key member of the Bariatric Surgery Steering Committee which built the Service from day one. She was an integral part of the development of the proposal which was submitted to the Ministry of Health and Long-term Care and was extensively involved in every aspect of program development, from the design of the space, the choice of equipment used in the Care Centre and the care pathway for patients.
Verna remains an integral part of the team, joining the Care Centre staff on a regular basis for Interdisciplinary rounds and lending her experience as a patient, friend and family member of patients and leader of a support network in Thunder Bay.