Atrium Health Bariatric Center

I havent got the pleasure to meet dr gersin yet i met dr alexander and he was great. but do to the fact he was behind they asked me if i would mind seeing one of the other dr's i got some information on him and i felt good enough about him. so i decided to see dr gersin. jessica his clinical cordinator is out of this world she has been my angel through it all. I have called her so much she probley hates me now.I can say they do send you to a dietician, pshy eveluation,and also to support groups.and they are big on after care.

May 30, 2001
I have not met Dr. Baumon yet, but his staff is very nice. Someone actually answers the phone when you call (Not a computer). His staff always answers my questions and are very patient and understanding of my situation. Kudos to the staff!!!

June 14, 2001
Today I met Dr. Bauman. He was personable. I am sure that he has a great bedside manner. He does not have as much experience as I would like but from what he is committed to bariatirc surgery and plans to be the premier bariatric surgeon for this region. He is learning and shared a great deal of information with me. He wanted me to understand what I was going through. He drew diagrams and explained the rationale for any questions he answered. Dr. Bauman is a general surgeon within a surgical practice. He is limited on the amount of time he can devote to Bariatric surgery due to his trauma call responsibilities. It would be ideal if he were abariatric surgeon only. He has an aftercare program with Dr. Adam Spitz, who is an endocrinolgist. Overall I would rate this program a 9 out of 10. Again the staff was wonderful!!!

Please visit the website for <a href="http://www.lgbsurgery.com/">Dr. Roc Bauman.</a>

After reading some of the posts on here about Dr. Gersin's office, when I went to their information session, I went with a huge attitude. Since then, I have gone to 2 sessions, and there is one reason for that: Jessica, Dr. Gersin's program director. She is amazing. When the session I went to in September was overbooked, she stayed late and held a second session for just 5 people! She truly just wants people to be informed. I went to another session this month, and again, she stayed late to discuss the procedure, the doctors, etc...with just 2 of us! Jessica is organized, meticulous, does not bullsh*t you about anything, and is genuinely a friendly person. As busy as she is, she is adamant about follow up and follow through. All of my pre-op appointments are set for the next 2 weeks, including the meeting with Dr. Gersin. After speaking with Jesica and other patients of his, I think I have good idea of what to expect. Of course, I will update this afterwards.

He is very knowledgeable about this surgery. I felt that Dr. Bauman was very professional, and he treated us with a great deal of repect (even though I asked some dumb questions)! His office staff is absolutely wonderful - especially Robin! He has a great aftercare program with Diane and Dr. Spitz, all you have to do is take advantage of it!!

He made sure to CLEARLY point out all the risks of surgery, and told us to carefully weigh them against the risks of obesity. Dr. Bauman wants his patients to know exactly what they are getting into.

I would recommend him highly!

I thought that Dr. Bauman was a very nice person and seemed to really care.
I didn't meet much of the staff, but the ones that I did meet were very nice and attentive.
I have been researching WLS for about 2 years so I didn't really hear anything from Dr. Bauman that I didn't already know. He showed actual footage of his surgery which was very interesting. There are many risks but I feel that having the surgery is the only way that my quality of life will improve rather than have my medical co=morbidities possibly taking me to an early grave.

I met Dr Bauman on August 27, 2002. He was everything I had heard that he was. He met with another wls hopeful, my husband and myself. He showed us a computer film of the surgery. He went into all the things that can go wrong and I mean he talked about them in detail. He doesn't sugar coat anything. Then he send us into our own rooms and met with us. He went over all the paper work that we had already got for him. I had alreday been to Dr Hall and he had send him his report. Also my PCP had send reports on blood work etc. After going over everything, he told me he though that I would do well with WLS. He talked about how important the aftercare is. We even talked about what type of excerise progam was best for me. Then he turn me over to Robin his office manager. She got everything together for Sharon to send off to the insurance company. They faxed the letter out that same afternoon and mailed a copy also. Everyone in that office has really tried to help me, good people. Will write more after next visit. Will see Dr Spritz and Diane, nutritionist on Sept 11 and 12. Will see Dr Bauman one more time before surgery. Just waiting on insurance.:)

My Surgery is September 11th, 2002 I hope to make something great happen on a day that we will always remember with sadness.

I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Keith Gersin and his partner very nice guys and very educated on this surgery.... I am having the LAP YEAH!! They were really funny when I finally got to go to my visit with him I was soo excited and goofy, they walked into the room and appologized for their attire and I was confused because they were dressed like Surgeons so I said YOU ARE DRESSED LIKE DOCTORS!!! And they laughed.... and said no, we just got out of surgery and did not have time to change.

He was very honest with me regarding the diet what to expect and the works Great Bed Side Manner!!! Hard to find with Surgeons Trust me!
Dr. Keith Gersin will not even see you until you go through the diet class. And I know that is good he is thinking about us and making sure we know what in the heck we are going to have to drink and eat and how our lives have to change.

I know Dr. Gersin makes us go to after care workshops and they seem to be great. If anyone has had this surgery and you are gaining weight then you need to re check your diet.

Dr. Keith Gersin has people to do that for him regarding what could go wrong etc. And yeah they are very honest and kinda scare you to death but it is our choice and it is worth the risk. I could die in surgery or die from a massive heart attack. I want to go for it and that is just me. But again you cannot go into the hospital and be shocked at how little you get to eat for goodness sakes wake up this is why we are doing this surgery.

I have to give Dr. Keith Gersin an A+ that is how I would rate him. He is like I have said not a drive through service kind of a doctor.... He really cares or is one heck of an actor. Great on Pre Op!, Great Bedside Manner and I will have to update you after my surgery.... So far he could not be better.
Good Bed Side Manners cannot really be taught you are born with them and if your doctor is a good caring person then The Bed Side Manner is a there.


I would love Patch Adams to be one of my doctors because I think better bedside manner is very important. I know when my brother was sick with Cancer his doctors Dr. Robert Thaler and Dr. William Shriner at Christ were a riot and they made him feel better just from being uplifting and awesome doctors. So yes bedside manner is very important. For not only the doctors but also for the nurses the kitchen help, and you name it. Goofy happy people heal people everyday.

Now when you are in surgery you do want someone who knows how to use a knife and use it right so yes you want them to be very competent otherwise you could die.

I will update all of you after My Surgery September 11.2002

Hi, I just saw Dr. Gersin and like him alot. My first meeting with him was Aug. 16 and my date for surg. is Aug 26th. He will joke with you and is still able to be up front at the same time. I feel he was honest and all will be ok.
The office staff was very friendly. Jessica did tell me she would see me the day after surgery and keep in touch for about 12 weeks.
Things are moving fast now and he is going to do the lap. surg. which the healing time will be faster.

I had my consultation with Dr.Bauman on june 17, He was so much younger than I had anticipated but, was very friendly and informative.He made sure I understood that this was not a fast fix it all and it would take alot of adjusting in my life with this type of surgery, he also told me of all the risks that could happen.I was very pleased with his bed side manner and my husband also liked him, his staff was very friendly and helpful. It took about 2wks. to get my approval after it was submitted.I now will see the nutritionist on august 1st and then my surgery is scheduled for august the 8th.I cannot fully rat Dr.Bauman at this time because I have not had the surgery yet, but, I overal would rate him about an 8+ at this point.I would highly recommend Dr.Bauman to anyone, I will write more after surgery.

I will not meet Dr. Gersin until 9-5-02. My only other appointment has been with a Nurse Practioner Kimberly Cain, on 6-6-02.
The biggest problem I've had is with the Psychiatrist, Dr. Hima Kode but the story had a happy ending for me. When I met with Kimberly Cain, Kimberly told me I had to have a psych eval, the only place I could get the eval was from Dr. Kode, that Dr. Kode wanted $150.00 up front and I had to file my own insurance claim. When I called BCBS to inquire as to how to file a claim, I was told Dr. Kode was a preferred provider for my insurance plan and had signed a contract, agreeing to bill BCBS for any visits AND that my total cost would be $15.00 for my co-payment. I called Dr. Kode's office with my good news and after explaining all the particulars, was told Dr. Kode would not file my claim and I had to pay $150.00 up front! I was told that Dr. Kode was afraid she would not be paid, up to the contract amount so she would not file the claim! Don't people sign contracts, so they are paid an agreed upon amount? BCBS made numerous calls to Dr. Kode's office, assuring them the claim would be paid, especially since it turns out BCBS also requires a psych eval and that my co-payment was $15.00. Dr. Kode still refused to file the claim. I contacted the NP Kimberly Cain but the only other option she gave me was to call her (Kimberly) back after the 4th of July to see if she had the phone number of a 2nd Psychiatrist named Marcia Kaplan, who was going into private practice. Here's the kicker - Kimberly said Dr. Kaplan would ALSO require $150.00 up front!
I filed a complaint with BCBS provider relations about Dr.Kode. I finally sent a fax to Jennifer at Dr. Gersin's office about the psychiatrist problem and asked to speak to Dr. Gersin. Jennifer called me that afternoon, and assured me I could go to anyone on my insurance plan, for the eval! I chose a super psychologist, Dr. Janice Bending 859-341-9888(by Thomas More College, in Kentucky). She is very personable and understanding and I plan to see her after the surgery, if needed. I paid her $15.00 and she filed my claim for me. I have not received an EOB yet, so I do not know how much Dr. Bending earned for the visit, but it was far less than $150.00!