Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, Louisiana Economic Development (LED), LSU Health New Orleans and the Office of the Governor joined forces in 2019 to establish the Bariatric & Metabolic Institute, now the Metamor™ Institute at Pennington.
“Metamor is our obesity ‘moonshot,’” said Pennington Biomedical Research Center Executive Director John Kirwan, PhD. “We’ve united researchers, scientists, nutrition experts, psychologists, exercise physiologists, and more under one roof so as to transform the understanding and treatment of obesity. Metamor leverages Pennington Biomedical’s more than 30 years of research into weight-loss treatments and reducing obesity rates in children and adults.”
“The obesity epidemic is a public health crisis that threatens the quality of life and economic health of Louisiana and its residents,” Gov. John Bel Edwards said. “Metamor’s bold response to that challenge will improve the health of our residents, reduce Louisiana’s collective healthcare burden and expand the state’s fast-growing life sciences sector. Pennington’s groundbreaking research has been a source of pride for Louisiana for more than 30 years, and this new facility ensures it will remain on the cutting edge of bioscience innovation for years to come.”
The combined facilities at Pennington Biomedical and Our Lady of the Lake are expected to contribute more than $100 million in economic returns, according to LSU economists, through a combination of research grant revenue, destination medical care, new surgical procedures, technology development, and lowering the state’s health care burden.
“Our Lady of the Lake and Pennington have long partnered to impact the overall health of our community,” said Scott Wester, Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System EVP of Advocacy and Strategic Partnerships. “The collaboration on this initiative demonstrates that we can build destination programs right here in Baton Rouge, La. We can care for patients here at home and attract those from abroad.”
Metamor, originally known as the Bariatric and Metabolic Institute, was announced in October 2019. A public-private partnership of Pennington Biomedical, Pennington Biomedical Research Foundation, Our Lady of the Lake, LSU Health New Orleans, Louisiana Economic Development, and the Office of the Governor of Louisiana funded the project and recruited Dr. Schauer to head the institute.
“We created a new brand for the institute because the facility, the services, and the community outreach and advocacy we offer are unique. We wanted a name that reflects that,” Metamor Director Philip Schauer, MD. said. “Metamor stands for the metamorphosis our patients experience, from chronic illness to health. The name also combines metabolic and more.
The new state-of-the art facility includes roughly 10,000 square feet of space, with 12 exam rooms and 10 consultation rooms on the first floor. The work involved demolishing existing space and adding customized exam and consultation rooms. The $2 million project took around 10 months to complete.
The project includes an outpatient clinic on the campus of Pennington Biomedical as well as surgical and office facilities at Our Lady of the Lake. Officials expect the facilities will be a key asset within the Baton Rouge Health District, which encompasses major health care employers spanning Interstate 10 and Perkins Road to the north and south, and Bluebonnet Boulevard and Essen Lane on the east and west.