Need recommendations near Natchitoches...

Need recommendations for wls facility. Nuweigh's hospital of choice no longer excepts BCBS Fed. My wife and I both are looking to have wls and liked Dr. Hargroder, but now we need to find trust in another Dr. We live in a small community close to Natchitoches. Shreveport across to BR is ok. We both have multiple morbidities, and BLBS Fed already told us to go for it. But we must find a Dr. and hospital that excepts their(BLBS) payment. Also wondering why the phyc eval is so important. I know a new life takes place after the surgery, but it has to be for the better, right. We've already raised 3 teen agers without doing ourselves or them in.

Hi Bryan, I had my WLS surgery in Lafayette, La. I'm not sure if they accept your insurance or not but you could call them. They are with the Hamilton Medical Group at Southwest Medical Center. I used Dr. Gary Stevens but they also have 2 lady drs. who are excellent. One is Dr. Chu & the other is Dr. Lawrence. I had the BPD/DS but they do the Gastric By-Pass the most. I think the phyc evaluation is to see if you can take all the changes that are going to take place in your life after surgery. My surgery was May 2 & I have lost 61lbs. so far. Went for my 3 month ckeck-up yesterday & everything was good. Hope this helps you in some way. Donna Butler

They didn't take my insurance either. I'm currently using the Touro Weight Management Center in New Orleans. It is a little bit of a drive but worth it to me.

I would check with Ochsner in New Orleans... they might take that insurance, I'm not sure... and as I've worked with Dr. Richardson's patients before... I have seen that they tend to do very well, in the majority of cases... he's an excellent surgeon.

Bryan, I used Surgical Specialists of LA (800-934-3000 Southshore or 985-234-3000 Northshore). They have a southshore office and a northshore office. My surgery was performed at Lakeview Regional in Covington but I know they are using different facilities now in New Orleans (Touro, Memorial Medical, Omega)and the Covington/Slidell areas (Fairway Medical, also a new hospital opening in late August in Slidell called "Surgical Specialty"--I think--I will be having surgery for a hernia and panniculectomy there in Sept/Oct.. I had the BPD/DS surgery with Dr. Clark Warden but their surgical group does RNY, DS and Lapband. website is www.whyweight.com You may be able to call them up to see if they accept your insurance. I had Medicare as my primary and UHC as my secondary I they accepted that. Rhonda 225/110 @ goal

Bryan, It looks like you already got a lot of good info but I thought I would add my 2 cents anyway. I used Dr. John Price in Monroe, LA. Dr. Price takes all types of insurance. They are very caring and have one of the best post op plans that I could find in this area that includes support groups. When I go for my follow up appointments, I also meet with nutritionist, psychiatrist, and a fitness expert. This post op plan was one of the reasons that I chose him. I wish you and your wife the best of luck. Lashondra

Hi Bryan: Just throwing my three cents in...you may want to check into Dr Chung in Lake Charles....He has a very comprehensive program, and very detailed support group..I know there are loads of patients with BCBS federal in his program, because they come to the monthly support group. His program coordinator is Marcie..she is excellent, and is a wiz with insurance issues and aftercare. But mostly, they are very detailed, and extremely available after the surgery. You can't go wrong with Dr Chung's program. Hope this helps. Laurie

hi bryan... there are several dr's here in shreveport that do the wls... they also give you a choice in the hospital that you use.... all of them accept bcbs fed..... dr george merriman... 318-222-3132, stephanie and james barnes 318-681-7980, kenneth jones 318-222-7584. i have heard good things about all of them, and they all have great support and after care programs. wish you the best of luck in whom ever you choose for your surgery. god bless, lori

byran i am going to dr barnes and having the surgery. Dont personally know any of the others. Dr Barnes is husband and wife team that both do the bypass together. I met him and met his staff all are real nice. They are working on my paperwork right now waiting on my phy eval. Good luck denise

Bryan, I would highly recommend Dr. Jim and Stephanie Barnes in Shreveport. I live in Alexandria . Easy to find, the hospital is great Shumpert which is just a few blocks away from the Barnes office. Call Melissa at 318-681-7980 and she will be glad to help you. Good Luck, Bobbie Glisson