shrinkydinkme

Kaiser is so crazy... completed Options April 25th and then the long Fontana wait for a Mental Health exam, that was June 25th, today I got the call for my Surgery Consult and I was for Dr. Philip Lou Chin at St. Bernardine's specifically. No Hub referral -with a choice of West LA or Torrance. Dr. Chins first available consult date is Aug. 3rd. Trying to be glad I have that..... but will call his office tomorrow to see how far out his surgery schedule is and if I need to figure out why I was specifically assigned to him and how if possible to transfer to West LA or Torrance.

thanks.... that is the most detailed first few days I have read and I feel like it helps me to prepare for what's ahead

You should have got a call by now contact the Dr. who did your mental health exam 5/30 by e-mail. I finished all requirements with Fontana yesterday, and because of your post asked at my mental health exam about your month long wait. She told me that if I had not been contacted by the Kaiser Hub with a date in 2 1/2 weeks to contact her by e-mail, so she could see what was wrong.

Called this morning and was able to get an appointment for next week. Called to cancel mine in Fontana and they said I would still need to have it. Only the 2 Fontana MFT's can clear me. ...... Thanks for trying

with getting a sooner appt...can u travel to another kaiser to get a sooner appt??? I have asked my PCP and the Bariatrician that gave me approval last week and both said... you can not switch. 4 months ago when I began the 12 weeks of OPTIONS the only surgery location offered was St. Bernadine's- now they are sending all approvals for surgery to a central scheduler and you receive a call to select from one of 3 surgery centers to try and speed things up. I just keep telling myself.... God is in control not me... it will be ok. Then I pick up the phone and call again LOL

If it makes you feel any better.... I started process with Kaiser the end of Jan. and have called daily for appointments, jumped through every hoop that was even mentioned as quick as possible and am currently held up by the mental health exam that is over a month out because one of the 3 MFT's was transferred to another location- so they are way behind! The first available is June 25th, then I have to wait to be referred to one of 3 hospitals for surgery. May have been longer then you thought, but I was told going in to expect a year, so I guess we can not complain too much. I am hoping for end of August which would be 7 months or before if possible. I just keep calling and calling and calling .....

I live in So. Calif. and am attending the Options Program in Fontana. My referral to first Options class took 12days. I saw my PCP on Friday for the referral to the Bariatric department. The referral was accepted that Wed. and I was called to schedule my Orientation class offered only on Fridays 1-4pm. This had to be completed before I could register for Options. I attended Orientation that Friday one week from my PCP referral and then was told to call the following Monday morning to register for the next Options class. That class began on Wed. Tomorrow will be #4 of the 12 required Options classes. All surgeries except lap-band are now done in-house at St. Bernadine's by one of 2 Kaiser Bariatric Surgeons Dr. Peter Fedorka or Dr Phillip Chin. The labs are all done following class #2. Class #3 is considered your surgeons seminar. At the conclusion of the 12 classes you will need clearance from your PCP, Bariatriction and Psyc/MFT. Then you will be scheduled for surgery. My last class is April2 25th so I am hoping for surgery in May. FAQ/Answers for Kaiser Fontana 10% of excess weight loss recommended Missed Options classes must be made up and only 2 made up misses allowed. if you gain before surgery it may be postponed There is no limit to how much you can loose or how low BMI, one person lost 110lbs and still wanted to go ahead with surgery so they did. Approval for class is approval for surgery if you do all labs etc. You must attend a support group once before the end of the 12 Options classes Liquid diet only required day before surgery but can be done to boost weight loss average stay in hospital is 2-3 days Have to go to Redlands for an Initial Operation meeting, a Pre-Op meeting and 2 post-op visits then 2-3 more visits in Fontana over the 12 months After Options program is completed you have one year to decide if you want to have the surgery and you will not have to repeat the Options classes Great TOPIC! I looked all over for this info a few months ago when I wanted to know the Kaiser details and it was so difficult to find.