St. Lucy honored for giving
The South Coast Interfaith Council (SCIC) honored St. Lucy Church, Long Beach for its philanthropy as well as local religious leaders at its Interfaith United Dinner in Redondo Beach Nov. 11.

St. Lucy's, pastored by Father Mike Roebert, was lauded for helping to launch SCIC's Jubilee Endowment Fund with a pledge of $3,000. The urban parish also donates $1,000 annually to SCIC, as well as to the Interfaith Community Organization.

In addition, St. Lucy's supports neighborhood security, homeless housing, family food dispersals, health screenings and professional services through its Marian Outreach Center. "We are happy to share what little we have to extend God's light, life and love," Father Roebert said.

The South Coast Interfaith Council declared that the parish's "generosity is noteworthy from an otherwise economically challenged congregation" on Long Beach's west side.

St. Mary's named 'Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence'
St. Mary Medical Center's Center for the Surgical Treatment of Obesity has been designated as "Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence" (COE) by the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.

"Only Centers with the highest levels of efficacy, efficiency and safety achieve this designation," said Dr. Mathias Fobi, the program's medical director. "This achievement speaks to the quality of our program and helps assure patients that they will receive quality care at St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach."

Acceptance of the COE title identifies bariatric programs that have voluntarily agreed to continuously share information on clinical pathways, protocols and patient outcomes, along with identifying programs that are eligible for qualifying patients with Medicare.

St. Mary Medical Center is one of 30 such accredited hospitals in California, eight in Los Angeles County and the only Center of Excellence designated hospital in Greater Long Beach. For information about St. Mary's Bariatric Program, call (562) 491-7935.