University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey, has opened the Rutgers Weight Management Center in collaboration with Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.
The multidisciplinary centre aims to provide a comprehensive approach to obesity care by bringing together medical and surgical services with personalised support teams.
It is staffed by a team of board-certified obesity medicine physician specialists, nutritionists, endocrinologists, advanced bariatric endoscopists, behavioural health specialists and bariatric surgeons, as well as patient navigators.
For individuals struggling with obesity, the University Hospital’s bariatric surgical programme will provide gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy and lap gastric band procedures.
These surgeries are among those performed using the ‘Davinci robot’, which is claimed to offer numerous benefits such as reduced blood loss and infection risk, minimal scarring, shorter hospitalisation and quicker recovery times.
University Hospital president and CEO Ed Jimenez said: “We are incredibly proud to announce the official opening of the Rutgers Weight Management Center at University Hospital.
“We are confident that this care approach will result in healthier patients and provide support for individuals suffering from obesity and health complications related to being overweight.”
Rutgers Weight Management Center medical director Dr Dhvani Doshi said: “The goal behind a collaborative centre is to help shift the paradigm in how we approach a condition as complicated as obesity.
“With combined expertise from multiple specialties and a broad spectrum of treatment options for obesity, the centre will ensure all patient needs are met from the beginning to the end of their weight loss experience and ultimately enhance outcomes in the Essex County area.”
In conjunction with the centre's launch, University Hospital has also introduced the ‘MyApp’ mobile app, which is designed to enhance patient engagement with their healthcare.
The app provides a centralised platform for post-operative and pre-operative information, messaging capabilities, and access to health resources.
