September 18, 2025
Denver Health has recently been designated as an American College of Surgery (ACS) Surgical Quality Partner through its accreditation as a Comprehensive Bariatric Center by the Metabolic and Bariatric surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP), a joint quality program of the ACS and American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. Being a Surgical Quality Partner signifies a hospital's dedication to consistently improving procedures and approaches, while maintaining a critical eye on the process at every step. The Surgical Quality Partner designation lets patients know Denver Health is dedicated to quality and relentless self-improvement and has been verified or accredited by the ACS. Patients can trust that the care they receive at Surgical Quality Partner hospitals adheres to the most rigorous standards in surgical quality.
"I am grateful to our bariatric team here at Denver Health and to our leadership for their support of the program," said Alexander Morton, MD, director of the Denver Health Bariatric Surgery Center. "It is really amazing to look back and see the progress we have made since the program's inception now having performed more than 1,000 bariatric procedures, and I am proud to lead a team that puts patient safety and quality first." Morton recently achieved a first of its kind Focused Practice Designation in Metabolic and Bariatric surgery by the American Board of Surgery. The 1000th surgery happened in April.
The Denver Health Bariatric Surgery Center has been accredited by the MBSAQIP since 2018, undergoing its most recent re-accreditation site visit over the summer. MBSAQIP is a comprehensive, nationwide surgical quality program aimed at ensuring the safe and effective performance of metabolic and bariatric surgery. Surgical outcomes focus on weight loss and the treatment of obesity-related diseases, like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obstructive sleep apnea, and others. Research shows accredited centers experience lower complications, and better outcomes than non-accredited facilities.
Denver Health's first bariatric surgery case was in 2012.
"ACS Quality programs are grounded in more than a century of experience and participation is an important measure of a hospital's surgical quality. As an ACS Surgical Quality Partner, Denver Health has shown a commitment providing the best possible patient care, evaluating that care in a rigorous fashion, and dedicating themselves to continuous self-improvement," said ACS Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer Patricia L. Turner, MD, MBA, FACS.
