Question:
What happened to Dr. Welker in Oregon?

Does anyone have an idea of what is going on with Dr. Welker in Eugene oregon? I had been approved for surgery at the beggining of October(Finally), but was told at that time that the office could not schedule anything until after the beggining of November. I finally got a hold of the office today and they told me that Dr. Welker will no longer be doing surgeries at Sacred Heart Medical Center. After so many months of getting this surgery setup, to get derailed after being approved is just really upsetting. does anyone really know what happened?    — Steve V. (posted on November 4, 2002)

November 6, 2002
It is my understanding that, just like Providence in Portland, Sacred Heart in Eugene has decided to no longer allow to have this surgery performed in their facility. In other words, they have no desire to serve the "obese population." They don't feel that it is worth it to them for the malpractice/liability expenses. Just another way to practice the last legal descrimination there is. I do know that Emanual in Portland is building quite a bariatric program. Business should be booming soon...cj
   — wakina

January 31, 2003
Hi Steve ~ I haven't been able to verify this yet, but from what I have heard, Dr. Welker has either retired or is about to. Please don't take my word (alone) on this one. A call to his office should be able to confirm whether he has retired or not. Best of luck on your journey! :) Tammy
   — Tammy R.