Integrated Health Section Clinical Issues Committee

Lillian Craggs-Dino, DHA RDN LDN CLT
Chair & IHSEC Liaison

Laura Aylward, PhD
Co-Chair

Members

Leah Hurley Ahearn, MS RD LDN
Krystal Agnew, DNP APRN FNP-BC
Rheanna Ata Brown, PhD
Cynthia Blalock, MSN, AGPCNP-BC
Rachel Byers, PsyD
Lynn Castle, PA-C
Gwendolyn Crispell, RN, MSN, CBN
Kasey Goodpaster, PhD, Immediate Past Chair
Karen Groller, PhD RN CV-BC CMSRN
Karen Grothe, PhD ABPP LP
Haylee Hannah, MS RD LD CSOWM
Lori Hicks, MSN RN
Carah Horn, MBA-HCA BSN RN

Kellene Isom, PhD MS RD CAGS
Tiffany Lilly, MSN RN
Larissa Mahoney, LD RDN
Lisa Matero, PhD
Robin McDermott, MSN RN FNP-C
Larissa McGarrity, PhD Clinical Psych Assistant Professor
Alyssa Mineo, PsyD
Heather Passerini, MS ACNP CCNS MBA
Ashley Pona, PhD
Jillian Reece, RD LDN
Andrea Rigby, PsyD
Melissa Santos, PhD
Colleen Tewksbury, PhD MPH RD CSOWM LDN
Amanda Van Prooyen, PharmD BCPS

Clinical Issues Committee MD Liaison

Wesley Vosburg, MD FACS DABOM FASMBS, Chair

ASMBS Staff Liaison

Leslie Vinson

Charge

In alignment with the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) mission to elevate global health and quality of life by significantly reducing the impact of obesity and its related illnesses, the Integrated Health Section Clinical Issues Committee (IHSCIC) is charged with creating evidence-based position statements focusing on clinical issues pertinent to the integrated interdisciplinary team. The committee aims to address individual integrated health disciplines’ challenges, with the overarching goal of enhancing the safety, quality, and outcomes of bariatric and metabolic surgical patient care.

Description

The Integrated Health Section Clinical Issues Committee comprises diverse bariatric integrated health professionals, representing disciplines such as nursing, behavioral health, nurse practitioner and physician assistant, registered dietitian, and pharmacist. All Committee members are ensuring a broad, equal representation of perspectives and expertise.

Objectives

  • Prioritize and develop evidence-based projects and publications, offering clinical and practice recommendations through a multi-specialty integrated health lens.
  • Identify, develop, and revise best practice recommendations, clinical guidelines, position statements, and protocols for different integrated health disciplines, reassessing every five years to ensure relevance and accuracy.
  • Collaborate with surgeons’ Clinical Issues Committee to provide an integrated health perspective in their projects, fostering a cohesive approach to patient care.
  • Provide support to committee members in developing best practices, clinical guidelines, position statements, and recommendations, fostering a collaborative environment conducive to knowledge exchange and innovation.
  • Develop protocols for initiating and implementing projects, establishing direct communication channels with the IHSEC to streamline processes and ensure effective project management.

Goals

  • Prioritize and develop evidence-based projects and publications.
  • Identify, develop, and revise best practice recommendations.
  • Foster collaboration with surgeons’ Clinical Issues Committee.

2024/2025 Projects

  • Multidisciplinary Considerations for Cannabis Use Before and After Bariatric Surgery Review, January 2025
  • Integrated Health Nutritional Guidelines for the Surgical Weight Loss Patient (2016) Update: Micronutrients – Draft in progress
  • Contraceptive Counseling and MBS Review – Draft in progress
  • MBS Youth Psychosocial Scoping Review – Draft in progress
  • Integrated Health Representation on Surgeon-Led Clinical Issues Committee Projects:
    • Measures of Obesity: Review of the body mass index, November 2024
    • Measures of Obesity: Review of the body composition, November 2024
    • Review of Endobariatric Procedures, Submitted December 2024
    • Review of Chronic Abdominal Pain after RYGB – Draft in progress
    • Reoperative Surgery Task Force Position Statement 2014 Update:
      • Reoperative Treatments for Long-term Chronic Complications of MBS Literature Review – Draft in progress
      • Reoperative Treatments for refractory weight and comorbidity related issues post MBS Literature Review – Draft in progress
    • ASMBS Review of Marginal Ulcers after Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, October 2024

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