Merrimack Health

About Merrimack Health

What is Merrimack Health?

Merrimack Health is a hospital system in the Merrimack Valley, and its medical weight loss program runs through the Weight Management and Bariatric Center, part of its hospital-based services. Medical appointments for non-surgical weight management happen at Community Medical Associates, 575 Turnpike St., Suite 22, North Andover. Nutrition appointments happen at Andover Medical Center, 323 Lowell St., West Wing, Suite 302, Andover. The program is built around a team: Garo Garabedian, MD, who is board-certified in internal medicine and obesity medicine, sees patients for the medical side, and Catherine Caselini, RN, is also listed as part of the prescribing team. Dietitians are part of the visit rotation as well, but weight loss is one service inside a larger hospital system, not the whole of what this practice is.

A first visit starts with a dietitian, then moves to the doctor to talk through medical options. After that, the plan calls for seeing the dietitian every one to two months and the doctor every four to six weeks for the first three to four months, spacing out once a patient has settled into a treatment plan. The hospital also runs free information sessions about surgical weight loss options, held the second Tuesday of certain months, though those sessions are about bariatric surgery rather than the medical weight loss track.

This listing is for its Suite 302 Andover office at 323 Lowell St. West Wing.

What does it cost?

No prices are published for the medical weight loss program, the consultation, or any visit in the follow-up schedule. There's no stated cost for the nutrition counseling visits either. If you're considering this program, ask directly what a first visit costs, what follow-up visits run, and whether any of it is billed as a hospital service that insurance might cover versus a cash-pay add-on.

What should you ask before you book?

Ask whether Dr. Garabedian or another prescriber will be the one writing any prescription, and what Catherine Caselini's role is in that process. Ask whether weight loss medications are named and prescribed as part of this program, since none are listed, and whether insurance is billed for any part of the visits or whether the whole program is cash pay. Ask what the North Andover office's hours are, since the published hours (8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday) are listed for the Andover nutrition location rather than the medical office. Ask whether telehealth visits are an option if you can't get to either office in person.

Who is it a good fit for?

This is a good fit if you want a weight loss program embedded in a hospital system, with a physician who is board-certified in obesity medicine and a team of dietitians involved in the visits, and if you're comfortable asking about costs and insurance coverage directly rather than finding them published ahead of time.

Sources: mhlawrencehospital.org, mhlawrencehospital.org/services-and-centers/weight-management/medical-weight-loss-(non-surgical)

Services Offered