CCBS at St Vincent

I am supposed to go St Vincent's WLS seminar on August 21st. I would like to hear from people that had or in the process of having their surgery at St Vincent's. I know that St Vincent's has a really great program and seems to be very popular, but I have a few questions...... What goes on at the seminar???? Do I need to bring anything with me to the seminar or is this just a basic presentation on their program????? How long after the seminar did it take to see the surgeon for your initial consultation????? I also heard about a $250 "program fee" that is charged.....what does this include and at what point do you have to pay this???? I am still in the process of chosing a hospital to have my WLS done and I just want to be prepared for everything. So if you are in the process of going to St Vincents for your surgery or are a post op from St Vincents I would love to hear from you. Thanks ROGER

Both my husband and I had surgery at St. Vincent's. He had open and I had lap. I really loved the surgeons we met and think they're top notch. The nurses were wonderful as well & really understood bariatric folks. The seminar was informative. We went through what the surgery is, how it works, recovery, part of how eating will be, risks and benefits, etc. Also, a patient will give her/his story. There is also time for questions. We signed up for our surgical consults at the same time. Dates were available within two days to one week of the seminar. In fact, I think there were some openings for the next day. The $250 program fee covers educational materials and the person working on your insurance. They list a few other things. This fee has been a bone of contention for a lot of folks, esp. since it is not reimburable by insurance. We figured it was worth it to get the surgeons we wanted. The $250 can be paid at time of consult or shortly after it. The sooner you pay it, the sooner they'll get started working on your file and processing for insurance approval. All in all, I would definitely go to CCBS again. We drove 4 hours (and continue to do so for followups) to go there. The surgical competence is what is most important and we were willing to jump through any necessary hoops for it! Goodluck!