Posted on February 6, 2007 at 1:20 p.m.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Beginning this Thursday, UAB Hospital Bariatric Surgery Services will host a series of free monthly seminars to educate the public about bariatric surgery. All who want to learn about the various operations for treating obesity are invited. Available to provide information and answer questions will be Medical Director Ronald Clements, M.D., UAB associate professor of surgery; Program Coordinator Deborah Thedford, R.N.; other health care team members; and insurance counselors.

The seminars will begin at 6 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month, beginning Feb. 8, in the hospital’s West Pavilion Conference Center Board Room, located on the second floor. Directions will be posted at all parking deck entrances to the hospital. For further information and a map, call 205-934-7877.

UAB recently became the first hospital in the state to receive the American College of Surgeon’s highest level of accreditation for its bariatric surgery program.