Abbott Northwestern Hospital Bariatric Center

Dr. Drew is a very nice man. I felt comfortable in his office when I had my consult in January. On surgery day, he came in and explained what he was going to do and again we talked about options.

Dr. Drew's office staff is wonderful. His coordinator, Judy Schwartz is wonderful!! She seems overworked but has been absolutely terrific helping me make the switch. She did visit me in the hospital which was very nice of her. Kelly, his PA did my post-op examine and she also visited me in the hospital. I was impressed by the friendliness of his staff and by their support. I feel very comfortable whenever I'm in the office.

I feel that Dr. Drew gave me the very best care. Enough so that my 23 year old daughter is scheduled to have the surgery on March 29.

I trust him. I trust his office staff. They are all committed to helping the obese. I would rank them at the very top of the ladder!!

I have not met with him yet, but his nusre and staff are helpful they took care of everything with the insurance.

I haven't had the chance yet to meet Dr. Drew. I went to the informational meeting on the 27th. His nurse Judy directed it. She was great. She answered all questions and really put me at ease about the surgery. ....Update....LOVE that Judy! I found out I was approved and she scheduled all needed appointments for me AND is gonna call the insurance company with the surgery date. She's a Godsend.***UPDATE*** I met with Dr. Drew for my consultation on 1/26. I could tell he's a very busy man but also very nice. He answered all and any questions I had and was very thorough with his explanations. I feel very lucky and confident
to have him as my surgeon.

Dr Drew was great! Because I had already been through one consultation, I was pretty prepared. He was very reassuring and nice to deal with. Judy (the coordinator in the clinic) is really busy but equally as great! I have had no problems what so ever and would recommend them to anyone!

The two surgeons that did my procedure were Dr.Schwartz and Dr.Drew. I decided to work with Dr.Drew for my primary contact. I felt Dr. Drew was easy to work with. He didn't make me uncomfortable like Dr.Schwartz did. Dr.Schwartz and I just did not have the same sense of humor. The staff at the office was great, especially Nurse Judy Schwartz (Dr.Schwartz's wife) she was extremely nice and always seemed concerned with what was going on and she did a great job of explaining how the whole process works. I also learned a lot about the surgury by just being in the waiting room and talking with the other people who have had the same procedure. The aftercare program is good...with monthly appointments and yearly appointments in the schedule. I believe Dr. Shwartz for me was better in the surgical competence area than bedside manner, but Dr. Drew is great with both the surgical competence and bedside manner, overall he gets the higher rating due to my experience with the surigical complications.

1/7/01--I must say that I'm impressed with Judy Schwartz, Dr. Drew's nurse and I believe the program manager who conducts informational sessions. Despite her very busy schedule, she returned my phone call within two days and was very helpful, says she's had excellent experience working with my insurer.

I have a bit of a time constraint, as a friend I work with is willing to donate a few weeks of sick time to me (how lucky is that!), but he may be leaving my employer in late April. I would need to get the ball rolling and schedule a date ASAP so that the transfer of sick time can be made. Judy told me I could attend an earlier info meeting (tomorrow!) and talk with her afterwards. Meanwhile, I've already done some of the legwork myself--got my doctor's blessing and letter of medical necessity; scheduled psych and nutritional exams this coming week. Judy said she's scheduling surgery into March at this point, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

I chose Dr. Schwartz because his group is doing the laproscopic procedure. The huge scar seemed intimidating and I was very interested in not having to deal with that. The staff is great--they are obviously very busy, so if you need lots of handholding and attention, you may be disappointed. There is a required 2 hour info. session that is very helpful--they cover all the risks and benefits. One thing they do emphasize is that you do need to do all the things you were supposed to be doing before--eating well, exercising, drinking water, in order to gain the most benefit from the surgery. They also work with you in helping you get together the letters, forms, documentation, etc. to send to the insurance company. There isn't much aftercare, other than a visit with a dietician and periodic office checkups. I'm a pretty "low-maintenance" person in terms of needs, so I didn't mind that I didn't see the doc much at the hospital.

I have had a couple appointments with Dr. Drew at this point. I felt very much at ease with him, in the way he explained the duration, complications, and effects of the surgery. He was great during and after the surgery, with a very good bedside manner. I felt that he was genuinely concerned for the welfare of his patients. His nurse, Judy Schwartz is very competent when it comes to dealing with the insurance companies and fielding the constant barrage of phone calls she gets from prospective patients.

sept. 7 2000
I have not met my surgeon yet but.. His nurse Judy is so very sweet, she has worked with me in everyway that she could to get me in for a consultation my date is sept. 14 I am so excited. I will let you all know how it goes

Nov. 19 2000, my surgeon was dr. schwartz.. he is the most talented awesome man on this earth, he is very kind, sweet, caring and compationate, and his skill at doing this surgery is just awesome.. I felt very confident in his hands, what a lucky woman his wife is!! he has changed my life forever!the office staff was great, very caring. i have to go back in 1 month for a check up, cant wait to see him! He totally kept me on enough pain meds that i basically felt hardly nothing, everytime i asked for pain meds they were right there.. on a scale from 1-10 he is a 15.. thank you dr. schwartz.

I have only met Dr. Schwartz once so far. I thought he was very nice and that he genuinely understood my situation and didn't make me feel bad about being overweight.

I think that the office staff is wonderful! They try their best to answer any questions you have and seem to be very personable. I especially like the nurse, Judy Schwartz (she is Dr. Schwartz's wife). She is very professional, but also has a good sense of humor.

I guess the one thing I would let others know about Dr. Schwartz is that he is a very busy man and from what I've been told, he can sometimes come across as being a bit abrupt, but that it's only when he's running behind schedule. I was told that he's absolutely wonderful before and after surgery.

Dr. Schwartz makes a point of letting you know just how important it is that you follow the aftercare program precisely. He says that if you have any reservations of not being able to follow one or more of the requirements, you shouldn't have the surgery. He also wants to make sure that you understand not only the physical changes that will occur, but also the emotional ones. If you have any history of mental illness you have to make sure that your psychiatrist/psychologist thinks it's all right for you to have this surgery. You actually have to have a written recommendation from him/her in order to be considered for the surgery.

There is a structured aftercare program. It involves meeting with a nurse and dietician while in the hospital, visiting the surgeon's office 3 weeks after the surgery, every 3 months after that for a year, every 6 months for a year, and then once a year after that. They give you diet and exercise guidelines to follow and also let you know what to do to make your recovery a smooth one.

Dr. Schwartz does let you know about the risks of surgery during your consult. You actually learn a lot about these risks and about the procedure itself from a 2 hour class you take prior to sending in paperwork for approval of the surgery. They want to make sure you understand all of the risks before you start the approval process so you know if this is the right choice for you.

I would highly recommend Dr. Schwartz to anyone who is seriously considering gastric bypass surgery. I like the fact that he is skilled in both the "open" and "laproscopic" versions of this procedure.

I guess I would say that surgical competence would have to outweigh good bedside manner. But, it would be nice to have both in a surgeon. From what I understand, Dr. Schwartz is both. So, I'm in good hands.