About Us
WVU Medicine Medical and Surgical Weight-Loss Center
The WVU Medicine Medical and Surgical Weight-Loss Center offers a comprehensive medical and surgical program to help patients obtain a healthy weight and improve their quality of life.
Medical Weight Management Clinic: The Medical Weight Management Clinic at the WVU Medicine Medical and Surgical Weight-Loss Center provides a non-surgical, weight management program that provides each patient with a team of highly trained healthcare professionals who specialize in safe and healthy weight management. The Medical Weight Management Clinic is the first center in West Virginia to receive advanced designation in obesity medicine as an accredited medical weight loss center through the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program.
Bariatric Surgery Program: Our nationally recognized program delivers a superior quality of care with state-of-the-art surgical technology and our network of highly trained specialists from a range of medical fields. We offer a team approach to treating morbid obesity with dietitians, clinical psychologists, physician assistants, and nurses who are dedicated to working with patients before, during, and after surgery. We support patients every step of the way with regular follow-up appointments, a monthly support group, and social media support through our WVU Bariatric Surgery Facebook group.
Weight-loss treatment options at WVU Medicine include:
- Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy
This weight-loss procedure restricts and decreases food intake through surgical removal of approximately 2/3 of the stomach. - Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass
This surgery reduces the size of the stomach and the amount of fat and calories absorbed. - Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding
This is one of the least invasive approaches to weight-loss surgery because no permanent changes are made to the body’s physiology – the stomach stays intact, and the digestive process remains the same. - Endoscopic Sleeve Gastroplasty
Our gastroenterologists provide non-surgical endoscopic weight-loss procedures using an endoscopic suturing device to reduce the size of the stomach and decrease food intake.
Additional treatment options are available through our Bariatric Endoscopy program include: Transoral gastric outlet reduction, Endoscopic revision of sleeve gastrectomy, Gastric balloon, and Endoscopic management of surgical complications.
The WVU Medicine Medical and Surgical Weight Loss Center at J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital has been accredited as Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP®) Accreditation Center - Comprehensive Center with Obesity Medicine Qualifications by the joint Quality Program of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS). This accreditation was awarded in addition to the Center’s MBSAQIP surgical accreditation and designation as a Comprehensive Center. WVU Medicine J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital is recognized as a Blue Distinction® Center for Bariatric Surgery by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield West Virginia for delivering improved bariatric patient safety and better health outcomes.
WVU School of Medicine
At the WVU School of Medicine, we educate health professionals, provide thousands of people with medical care, and conduct lifesaving research. WVU's School of Medicine is consistently ranked as a top program nationwide for rural medicine by U.S. News and World Report's annual edition of "America's Best Graduate Schools".
The fellow functions as a resident as part of the WVU Medicine Graduate Medical Education program. See what resident life is like in the Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry at WVU Medicine!
Past Fellows/ Post-Graduation Employment
2018-2019 Christine Pundyk, PsyD Staff Psychologist at Cranberry Psychological Center
2019-2020 Eva Panigrahi, PhD Bariatric Psychologist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
2020-2021 Laura Aylward, PhD Bariatric Psychologist at WVU School of Medicine
2021-2022 Dallas Webb, PsyD Bariatric Psychologist at Baptist Behavioral Health