I am scheduled to go to orientation on 6/23 with the Bariatric Group at Ellis Hospital. Has anyone had experience with this group? Good or bad? I have been contemplating this for several years and finally decided to go for it.

What state and city is Ellis in?

What state and city is Ellis in?

It is in Schenectady NY

I suspected as much...my hometown many years ago!!!!

Mimi

Yup! I am a patient of Dr. P at Ellis Hospital's Bariatric Center.

I reached my goal weight and am indebted to Dr. P for all his help and support.

I definitely give Ellis a thumbs-up! They also handle all the surgery scheduling, insurance nonsense, etc., so all I had to do was literally just show up for all the pre-op, surgery, and follow-up visits. They made it really easy.

Hello all, I have recently been thinking about having the surgery done also. but am unsure where do I start? Any advice will me greatly appriecated.

If you are in the capital district (Albany, Schenectady, Troy, Saratoga) area, then start by attending an introductory seminar that the Ellis Bariatric Center puts on. It gives and overview of the surgery, the pros and cons of it, etc. It will be a good place to get started.

http://www.ellismedicine.org/Specialties/WeightLoss.aspx

the first step would be talking with your primary care providor. He or She would need to write a letter of medical neccesity for you to have the surgery. The next step would be contacting your insurance company to see what there requirements are for the surgery, and what groups they work with. My insurance is requiring a center of excellence which Ellis hospital is. I beleive AMC is as well and I could of gone there. My primary care doctor who I have been with for 15 years thought I would do better with the program at Ellis then the one at Albany Med.

I worked with this group in surgery at Ellis for over three years. My doctor is Dr. Clarke, and he is wonderful. Very thorough and careful. Good luck!

Well just an update, my husband and I both have orientation on August 4th. They told me I am just above the BMI line or 40 and we shall see. I have the letter of necessity coming from our doctor and I called the insurance and they told me that the doctor has to submit the request. So now we are just waiting for August 4th. Is anyone else going on that day?