Bariatric Surgery & Weight Management

About Bariatric Surgery & Weight Management

What is Bariatric Surgery & Weight Management?

Bariatric Surgery & Weight Management is a weight management program run by Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, a hospital system in the Pacific Northwest. Its Center for Weight Management serves Seattle and Tacoma. Its providers work at locations throughout the Puget Sound, and it also names St. Francis Hospital in Federal Way as a site for the Center. Most of the services it lists are surgical: gastric sleeve, gastric bypass, duodenal switch, bariatric revision surgery and a gastric balloon procedure. Google lists the business under Hospital, with a rating of 4 from one review.

The non-surgical side is called medical weight loss. It describes this as a non-surgical approach with individualized plans and ongoing care from physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses and registered dietitians. Services on this track include lifestyle coaching, nutrition counseling, medication and endoscopic treatments. It does not name the medications it uses. Troy Houseworth, MD, FACS, is the one prescriber named, but no prescriber is named for the medical weight loss track. Telehealth is offered. In its own words: "We offer online assessments, education and virtual consultations so you can get advice from the comfort and privacy of home."

This listing is for its Auburn office at 205 10th St NE Ste 200.

What does it cost?

It does not publish prices, and no consultation fee is given. It also does not say whether a program fee includes medication, whether insurance is accepted, or whether there is a membership or cancellation term. Ask for each of these in writing before you book.

Ask about the medical track and the surgical track separately. A surgical fee and a medical weight loss fee are different questions, and a clinic can answer one without answering the other. For the medical track, ask for the total monthly cost with and without medication.

What should you ask before you book?

Ask who signs the prescription on the medical weight loss track, and whether that person is a physician or an advanced practice provider. Ask whether the monthly fee covers the medication or whether the drug is billed separately, and whether it is brand-name or compounded. Ask what follow-up visits and lab work cost. Ask whether a virtual consultation is priced the same as an in-person visit, and whether insurance is accepted for either one. Ask how you cancel and whether there is a contract.

No street address, phone number or hours are given for the program. Ask which office you would be seen at, its address, and its hours before you commit to anything.

Who is it a good fit for?

This is a good fit if you want a hospital-affiliated program in Seattle or Tacoma that offers medical weight loss alongside surgical options, and you are willing to get prices and the prescriber's name in writing before you commit. If you need a published price or a named prescriber before you call, you will have to ask for both.

Sources: vmfh.org/our-services/bariatrics-weight-management, vmfh.org/our-services/bariatrics-weight-management/obesity-facts, vmfh.org/about-vmfh/news-media/feature-stories/weight-loss-to-race-day

Services Offered

Location