MVHS Weight Loss Center

About MVHS Weight Loss Center

What is MVHS Weight Loss Center?

MVHS Weight Loss Center is the weight loss program of Mohawk Valley Health System, based at 1675 Bennett Street in Utica, NY 13502 (listed as the Faxton Campus). It is mainly a bariatric surgery practice, and it also offers medical weight loss and nutrition counseling. The surgeries it names are the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and the gastric sleeve procedure. Its surgical program reports MBSAQIP accreditation. The prescribers it lists are William A. Graber, MD, FACS, Tiffany Lee, MD, Nandita Rao, MD, Laura Buschmann, RPA-C, and Angela Soja, FNP. Dr. Lee and Angela Soja are listed as accepting new patients. Dr. Graber, the metabolic and bariatric surgery director, says he recognized the need for a weight loss surgery program in Upstate New York in 2002.

For medical weight loss, its description reads: "For patients who qualify, medical weight loss offers a structured, medically supervised approach to weight management." Its required nutrition class meets Tuesdays at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. and Thursdays at 3 p.m. Its registered dietitian, Kristen Conway, MS, RD, offers one-on-one counseling in person, virtually or by phone. The clinic has a 4.9 rating on Google from 45 reviews.

What does it cost?

It does not publish prices. No consultation fee is posted, and it does not say whether insurance is accepted for surgery or medical weight loss. Nutrition counseling is the one service where self-pay pricing is mentioned, but it gives no figure and asks people to call for details. It does not name the medication used in medical weight loss, and it does not say whether medication is included in any fee. Call 315-235-2540 for numbers before you book.

What should you ask before you book?

Ask who signs the prescription for medical weight loss. The clinic lists five prescribers, so ask which one would see you and who handles your follow-up visits. Ask what medication is used and whether it is brand-name or compounded. Ask whether any monthly fee includes that medication. Ask what the consultation, follow-up visits and lab work cost, and whether insurance is accepted. Ask for the self-pay price of nutrition counseling, and whether a phone or video session costs the same as an office visit. If a program carries a monthly fee, ask how cancellation works.

Ask which criteria apply to you. Medical weight loss eligibility depends on body mass index and certain health conditions, and surgery candidacy uses a BMI greater than 35. Participation requires medical evaluation and ongoing engagement in care.

Who is it a good fit for?

This is a good fit if you are weighing weight loss surgery and want a surgical team tied to a hospital system, or if you want dietitian-led nutrition counseling you can arrange by phone or video. It is a harder fit if you need a price or a medication cost in writing before you commit, because none is published.

Sources: mvhealthsystem.org/weight-loss, mvhealthsystem.org/location/mvhs-bariatric-group, mvhealthsystem.org/weight-loss/nutrition-support, mvhealthsystem.org/weight-loss/meet-our-team

Services Offered