Phoebe Bariatrics a growing practice serving those who seek to lose weight

ALBANY — Phoebe Bariatrics has shown strides as it grows and continues to serve its patients.

The Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital Board of Directors heard an update at its monthly meeting on Wednesday from the practice’s physicians, while also hearing about the hospital’s response to Hurricane Michael and approving revisions to a financial assistance policy.

Phoebe Bariatrics, based out of Americus, is staffed by Drs. Jeremy Joyner and Sean Sheff. They are joined by a nurse assisting in the coordination of ongoing plans of care and a dietitian. Patients receive psycho-emotional counseling, are offered intensive education and individual and group support, and have access to a support staff.

The surgeons make pre- and post-surgery visits at the Meredyth Place complex, located at 2709 Meredyth Place in Albany, and at a clinic at 120 Highway 280 West in Americus.

“We have actually been growing a lot in Albany,” Sheff said.

Surgeries take place at Phoebe Sumter Medical Center, near the clinic site in Americus. The procedures performed are adjustable gastric banding, sleeve gastrectomy and gastric bypass, with a decreased focus on the gastric banding.

Joyner said the practice is moving away from bands because the process can be cumbersome for patients. A patient needs to make an appointment to get bands adjusted, and even if the procedure is done perfectly, the bands can be unpredictable.

“If I do a band, it is highly, highly selective,” Joyner said. “I know they (the patient) will be successful.”

Sixty-eight percent of Phoebe Bariatrics’ patients get a sleeve gastrectomy, 28 percent get gastric bypass while 4 percent get the band procedure. Since the program’s inception in December 2013, patients have lost 19,233 pounds of excess body fat — an average of 71 pounds per patient.

A patient’s body mass index needs to range between 35-65 to qualify for a procedure at Phoebe Bariatrics, which means some patients have had to commit to losing weight in order to get on the surgery schedule.

Sheff emphasized that changing the way someone looks is not the overall goal.

“Our goal is not cosmetics,” he said. “Our goal is (for patients) to live longer and be healthier.”

Joyner said many of these patients are individuals who have struggled with their weight for years, to the point they have trouble tying their shoes or are unable to take part in activities with their children.

“It doesn’t just give them freedom to lose weight, but (opportunities for new experiences),” he said.

Joyner added that the practice saw 16 cases its first year, anticipates doing 100 this year and currently has hundreds more in the pipeline. Given the lifestyle changes involved for the patients, he said the surgery itself is the easy part.

How successful a patient is depends on their behavior outside of the doctor’s office.

“That is up to them,” Joyner said. “It is a partnership for sure.”

Phoebe Bariatrics is expected to get a Center of Excellence designation, an additional medical weight loss component, a standalone clinic and medical resident training opportunities through the Medical College of Georgia.

Sheff said the site visit for the Center of Excellence designation — conducted after several years of preparation — has taken place and went well.

“Presumably we will be obtaining that (designation) very shortly,” he said.

The board unanimously approved on Wednesday a revision of Phoebe Putney Health System’s financial assistance policy. Brian Church, the health system’s chief financial officer, said the changes largely revolved around where to go for appeals, compliance and how to handle collections when a patient’s application is not complete. The complete policy can be found at http://www.phoebehealth.com/media/file/BillPay/FinancialAssistancePolicy_2018.pdf.

Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital officials also gave an overview of the hospital’s services in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Michael. Five hundred employees were housed for two days so they could avoid traveling, 650 employees received assistance for their personal recovery, 1,300 cases of water were distributed, 20,800 meals ready to eat were given to employees and 100 Albany city workers were fed at the hospital the day after the hurricane.