Center for Surgical Weight Loss Announces New Women & Infants Site for Info Sessions

The Center for Surgical Weight Loss at Care New England is pleased to announce that it will now offer free public information sessions at Women & Infants Hospital. The Center for Surgical Weight Loss at Care New England is aimed at helping patients who suffer from obesity and other weight-related diseases obtain optimal weight and a healthier lifestyle. Surgical weight loss procedures include the lap band, sleeve gastrectomy and gastric bypass.

 

Women & Infants Hospital: Free weight loss surgery seminars will be held on Wednesdays, April 22, May 27, and June 24, in Auditorium 4 of the Malcolm and Elizabeth Chace Education Center at Women & Infants Hospital, 101 Dudley Street, Providence, from 6 – 8:30 p.m. Sessions will then be held once monthly thereafter. Please RSVP to Sherry Peter at (401) 736-3731.

Kent Hospital: Free weight loss surgery seminars will be held on the first Tuesday of the month, April 7, May 5, and June 2, in the Doctor's Auditorium at Kent Hospital, 455 Toll Gate Road, Warwick from 6-9 p.m. Free parking is available on the Doctors' Auditorium side of the hospital by entering at the service vehicle entrance on Toll Gate Road. No RSVP is needed for this site.

The program is directed by Jeannine Giovanni, MD, a board-certified general surgeon with advanced training in bariatric surgery and extensive experience in Rhode Island. Giovanni completed her surgical training at Boston Medical Center and a fellowship in bariatric surgery at Saint Francis Hospital in Hartford, CT. She has practiced since 2005 and has performed more than 1,000 laparoscopic bariatric procedures.

Along with Dr. Giovanni's leadership, the program is supported by an experienced team including a certified physician assistant and program coordinator. In addition, a team of:

  • Cardiologists.
  • Gastroenterologists.
  • Pulmonologists.
  • Nutritionists.
  • Psychiatrists.
  • Nurses.
  • Anesthesiologists.
  • Exercise physiologists.
  • Cardiologists.

These clinicians provide multi-faceted clinical support to patients helping to ensure the best possible clinical outcomes from consultation, to day-of surgery, post-operation, recovery and long-term follow up.

Obesity is a disease that is chronic and often difficult to treat. It is often the root of many other serious illnesses including:

  • Diabetes.
  • Heart disease.
  • Sleep apnea.
  • High blood pressure.
  • High cholesterol.
  • Joint pain.
  • Infertility.
  • Acid reflux.
  • Cancer.

Medical treatments such as diet, exercise and pills fail to help keep off the weight for more than 95 percent of obese people. Yet, surgery is successful in more than 80 percent of the time in achieving long-term weight loss outcomes.

In order to qualify for surgery, patients must meet criteria established by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This criteria include body mass index (BMI), as well as weight-related medical conditions.

For more information or to find out if weight loss surgery is right for you, please contact the Center for Surgical Weight Loss at Care New England at (401) 736-3731.

About Kent Hospital

Kent Hospital, a Care New England Hospital, is a 359-bed, acute care hospital. It is Rhode Island’s second largest hospital, serving approximately 300,000 residents of central Rhode Island.

A teaching affiliate of The University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine, Kent offers programs in Emergency Medicine, Family Medicine, Internal Medicine and an Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine Fellowship. Kent’s redesigned Emergency Department (ED) sees approximately 70,000 patients a year and ranks Kent’s ED volume among the top 10-percent nationally. It was the first hospital in the state to eliminate the practice of ambulance diversion.