WILDOMAR ---- Southwest Heathcare System has been recertified as "Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence" by the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.

Southwest operates the Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar; it was one of the first such centers in the state to earn the excellence award. Bariatric surgery includes gastric bypass and gastric banding surgeries, which are designed to help patients lose weight by restricting the amount of food that can pass into the stomach.

About 50 patients a month undergo the surgery at the Wildomar center.