wolsja

Did everyone get the latest email from CIBO? If not here is a copy and paste... ... Dear CIBO Patients, Over the past few days we have tried to contact CIBO Patients. We are very saddened to announce that CIBO Clinic has been forced into receivership. Due to financial difficulties, we are no longer able to operate. Due to the unfortunate closure of the clinic a number of former staff members have voluntarily banded together to help provide care for the patients they serviced while employed by the clinic. Staff members are acting on their own accord, apart from previous management, to provide these additional services because they care. Patients should know that despite CIBO’s closure you are not “Orphaned” as some of the other clinics have led some of you to believe. Your surgeons are still available and responsible for your medical care. As you will read below, there is support being planned for you. We appreciate your support and patience while we “set things up” but wanted to provide an outline for your information. Medical Care Dr. Dennis Hong and Dr. Nalin Amin are still in charge of your medical care in the event that you experience complications or are in need of band related medical care. The emergency line is still active to support you at 647-297-8044. Dr. Hong and Dr. Amin operate out of St. Joseph’s Healthcare, Hamilton, ON. Patient Information - Google Docs We will be setting up a calendar and other materials and resources for your care on Google Docs. You will need a Google Gmail Account and we ask that you set one up and email it to us at ¬¬¬cibopatients@gmail.com. You will then be added to the group. Fills In-Town Patients Under the direction of Dr. Hong and Dr. Amin, fills will be provided in the short to medium term free of charge. The cost of these fills will initially be covered personally by your doctors. The location(s) will be determined shortly. We will be posting on the central calendar the location(s) and dates as they are determined. We will also be available onsite to provide guidance for patients requiring advice on fill volume and other band related issues. Out-of-Town Patients There will be minimal changes to the protocol for obtaining a fill. We are available to provide guidance for patients requiring advice on fill volume. Please email for direction. Patients will be assuming the cost for these fills. Post-Operative Care Patient support will be available and group support meetings are being organized in conjunction with fills. Nisrine will continue to provide patient care support. You can reach her at cibopatients@gmail.com Dr. Jennifer Walsh remains available by email if you need support. You can reach her at drjenniferwalsh@gmail.com Emergency Line – 647-297-8044 At the moment our biggest obstacle is finding appropriate locations. If you have access to a location free of charge please let us know.

You are absolutely right Tom! And thank you for passing along the information. No one is saying that anyone has to call but at least they are given the option. The situation is bad all around and of course none of us want to have to deal with it but it is done now and our immediate options are limited. There are several doctors and clinics who wouldn't want to touch a patient from another clinic (they all do things differently) and of course SWLC can't offer their services for free, they still have to pay their employee's to help us out.

Hello. I spoke with Nisrine today via email. They have set up an email for patients to send emails to as they don't know how long the CIBO emails will be operational the email address is: cibopatients@gmail.com. The staff were just as suprised as everyone else and they are trying to organize some sort of volunteer help for the patients. To the person that is supposed to get their fill on Monday I can certainly sympathize with you and understand your fear. I myself have never had a fill at the clinic as I live in BC, there are several doctors who are trained to fill the band. Email Nisrine or Robyn or the email address on here to get a list of the professionals able to do fills in your area. I was also told that each of the surgeons who worked there are still in practice and they will always be your surgeon so if you have a medical emergency with the band you can still see them (St. Joe's hospital in Hamilton I believe). This is all information that was passed on to me so I hope it helps to ease some of the frustration and fear. Best wishes to all.