Kingley Health Rocks!

Hi Tom,

I was referred to Kingley by my surgeon, Dr. Abkin. I made an appointment and went to the Wayne NJ facility. Tom Casola went with me as he has agreed to be my Mentor.

When I made the appointment they said I should be prepared to be there for two hours. The first hour would be the breathing test and the second hour would be with the Nutritionist. I asked why a breathing test, as Dr. A didn't require one. The receptionist couldn't explain why I needed that done, only that Kingley recommends it. First Strike....

We arrived about 40 minutes early, they took us shortly thereafter. Before they took us, I paid for my consult by check in the amount designated by my Ins. Company. No problem. BUT come to find out months later, because I paid by check my eval wasn't sent in the promised 48 hours after my appt....I had to call back 3 times to ask what was going on. Each time I got a different story as to how long my check was being held. First time it was 10 days, second time it was 14 days. My check had already cleared my bank at this point. I told the women I spoke with that they needed to make that policy a known fact by displaying it somewhere on the front desk or telling people when they write out a check it will be held. Otherwise, I would've paid by cash. The insurance specialist at Dr. Abkin's office finally had to call and have them email her my eval. Second Strike...

So now we head back to the area where they are going to weigh me, take some measurements and conduct the breathing test. I was mortified!!!! It was in a "room" with no door, the windows had no blinds or curtains on them and everyone in the gym working out could see what was going on. I truly wanted to run out!!! I person with a weight issue is sooo self-conscious anyway and to have to have all of this done in front of at least 25 people was demoralizing!!! HUGE Strike Three!!!

The breathing test is happening and everyone is watching and looking at me with this mask on, great! Once the test is done, the gentleman that took my mask off didn't really explain what or why I needed to have this done. Again, it was just something Kingley did. It was never mentioned again! Just another downfall...my batter already struck out!

We met with my Nutritionist and she was really nice! I thought she would talk more about eating after surgery as opposed to my eating habits at that point. Our appointment lasted 45 mins and I left without any paperwork on what to eat/drink after my surgery. So to me it was a waste of time!

I had told her that this office was 1 1/2 hours from my house and we were only there because of the requirements for surgery. She was fine with that and understood. I also told her that I wasn't happy because every time someone spoke to me they tried to get me to join their gym. They were just too pushy and after the 2nd time I said No thank you they should've gotten the hint!!

Lastly, after the whole eval issue because I wrote a check. I looked at my Insurance Claims and saw that Kingley had been paid above the $250.00 they told me I would need to pay for the appointment. This is a confusing part. They told me if my insurance company paid less than the 250.00 they wouldn't bill me the difference. IF the insurance company paid MORE than the 250.00 they would refund me the difference. Well my insurance company paid more than 250.00 and I haven't seen a refund yet.....guess I will have to call about that!

I truly hope that Kingley straightens out these issues, now that they are working with Dr.'s Abkin, Bertha and Iannace, I would hate to have these doctors affected by all this negativity.

All the folks at ALS are wonderful and have changed my life in such a way, I'm forever grateful!!! Hopefully, noone will have to go thru what I did with Kingley. Good luck to your facilities in the future.

Thanks for listening,
Kimberly A. Smith

Hi Kimberly,

I'm sorry to hear about your experience at Kingley Inst I hope others read this post before making that appointment.

Good with the surgery

Hi, I'm new to the forum and just wanted to respond to the negative feedback I've been hearing about Kingley.  I had my nutrition evaluation done at another facility but went to Kingley for my psych evaluation.  The staff there was really helpful and I'd have to say my experience with them has been positve.  I had lap band surgery in March and have lost a total of 42 pounds.  I left NYSC to join their facility because the staff there is familiar with working with people who have had bariatric surgery.  I also learned how to eat better by working with one of the dietitians weekly. 
I am sorry to hear that some of you did not have a good experience, however, I would recommend Kingley to all of my friends and family.  They have been a key to my success.

Ok, since my name was dragged into your reply, I need to address some things. While I don’t have the luxury for having a recording of the conversations that took place, this is what I recall: 

 

The reason Kimi still went to Kingsley, despite her apprehension, was on the strong advice of ALS. The partnership was new, and it was asked that she give Kingsley a try. Since Kimi already went to a private Psychological evaluation, she felt going for the Nutritional one wouldn’t be so bad. I guess she was wrong.

 

While there, Kimi asked the Kingsley representative (a girl) why she had to do the (metabolic) breathing test. The representative did explain why your company does this test. I questioned, why this is needed for a nutritional evaluation, knowing no other Nutritionists does this test. We were told everyone goes through this and the results would be discussed with Kimi after the test, and also sent to her Doctor. After the test, the results were briefly explained, but never in detail. She was told a detailed report would be sent. As far as I know, the results were never sent to her primary or Bariatric Doctor - but I could be wrong. Recently when this test was mentioned to ALS, they said they don’t require this test. Nor is this test required for any insurance company’s approval.  

 

I will strongly disagree, but Kimi was indeed asked on 3 occasions about “joining" a Kingsley facility. When asked, we said where Kimi lives and the representative said “Would our Woodbridge office be closer"? Kimi further explained where she lives, and stated she was near the Pennsylvania boarder, at which time the representative said there a Kingsley in Bensalem, and asked if that would that be close for her. Kimi explained that Bensalem was about 90 minutes from her home. Then I was asked where I lived. When I told the representative the location, she said “Oh we have one in Livingston" in case you two would like to try it. We politely declined, and I mentioned I already joined a gym at my job. There is no other way I would know about these 3 locations, unless your representative asked and told us.

 

As for Chris’ declaration of being in attack mode, while I disagree with his assertion, he has a right to his view. In defense to “attack mode" comment, maybe it was because Kimi (and I) strongly said (was steadfast) that she was there just for the Nutritional evaluation since others posted their concerns how Kingsley was persistent in trying to get them to join. She wanted to make sure everyone was aware that she had no desire to join. In a past reply you have admitted this approach is no longer done.

 

I also find it funny that Chris wrote TOM in his notes, when I NEVER gave him, nor the first female representative, my name. All I said was I was Kimi’s friend (like I did in a previous meeting with another person). I will admit I gave my name to the Nutritionists, because she asked who I was, and she very extremely polite and a wonderful person. She was the best thing in your facility. She listened to what we had to say, and was very pleasant. We even joke how she was from California, and never heard (or had) a Devil Dog. She did listen to what Kimi had to say about her eating style, and Kimi was told a “eating plan" would be devised for Kimi. It was believed this would be given even if Kimi didn’t come back, but it never was. Kimi’s disappointment about not receiving an “eating guideline" comes from the fact that other Nutritionists have indeed given guidelines after their evaluation meetings. In fact I still have mine. Also, at Kimi’s pre-op review class many folks didn’t have a packet, the person running it stated she was ‘upset that Kingsley wasn’t giving the patients these important documents’. But since I don’t have a recording of this, you could dismiss it as just hearsay.

 

As I said since I don’t have a recording of everything I wrote above, so my recollections may be a little off.

 

I will admit I do wonder why you have singled out Kimi, and I, with your answers, but have not addressed others who have left unsatisfactory views. I feel it would probably be best if I refrain from any other correspondence regarding this matter. But knowing me, I will reply if baited.

 

I wish Kingsley all the best in their future endeavors. I hope your relationship with ALS continues and flourish. I also hope others will read these posts, and replies, and make an informed decision which way to go.

While it's true that I had the locations confused, I stand by my comments.

As your reply clearly shows, your company continues to bully.

While I hope your company does well, I know I will never recommend your facility.

To The obesityhelp.com Forum:

I have recently been brought up to speed on some of the postings on this forum.  After review I believe that some of the Company's responses to postings to obesityhelp.com members have been inappropriate and do not reflect our values of how we treat our clients.  We have a very committed and passionate group of healthcare providers who are extraordinarily dedicated to the success of our clients.  They had an only too human reaction to some of the comments that they felt were not based on fact.  Nevertheless this human reaction does not represent the views or mission of Kingley Health. 

We activiely seek out and encourage constructive crticism that can help us improve the quality of our service and experience.

I apologize again for the inappropriateness of the reaction from our staff and we have deleted our offending posts.  We thank you for your understanding and look forward to the opportunity to regain your trust

Sincerely,
Jay Kingley
Founder & CEO

Dear Jay Kingley,

 

I must admit I am pleasing surprised, and applaud, that you took the time and energy to address this yourself. While stating your employees are passionate is understandable, but it is still no excuse for how it was handled, and the fact that personal information was posted without permission. I hope this is a learning experience, and any further responses will be approved my upper management before posted. Now that it’s over and done with, I hope we can all move forward.

 

I am glad to see Kingley is open to criticism. I have learned that constructive criticism is always healthy not only in organizational but also in personal growth. Sometimes we need to step back and reevaluate what is being said in order to better ourselves. But I know many times we get defensive, when in fact the person(s) is/are just trying to help.

 

As mentioned before, I can see that you do have clients who are very passionate with their views expressing how Kingley has helped them achieve their goals. I hope these positive achievements continue.

 

As I said, despite my difference with the (original) way Kingley operated, I always found the staff pleasant, professional and polite. The negative replies had me rethinking my assessment; however your pro-activeness reaffirms my views.

 

I wish Kingley all the best in its future. And maybe one day I may asked to join another Weight Loss patient to go with Kingley with them, and I may be pleasingly surprised in all the positive steps you have implemented.

 

I hope this will be my last reply in these matters

 

Tom Casola