Surgical Bariatrics Northwest Bariatric Center
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Dr. Pennings and his staff at Surgical Bariatrics Northwest in Post Falls, ID have been nothing short of amazing. From the first day I walked into the office for the initial seminar until now, three weeks post-op from Roux-en-y gastric bypass surgery, they have been absolutely fantastic. They speak to you like you're a real person, not like a medical professional speaking to a layman. I knew what was expected of me right from the start. My surgery and recovery went perfectly. Everything happened exactly as they told me it would. To date I have lost 59 total pounds and 28 since my surgery three weeks ago and I attribute all of my success to that staff and all they have done for me and done to help me with this journey. I highly recommend Dr. Pennings and Surgical Bariatrics Northwest to anyone interested in weight loss surgery.
In a word: awesome! A doctor and his staff can be good; they can be professional; they can get the job done. But it takes a special something to make a patient feel really cared for. I have never felt to be in better hands than when I was under Dr. Pennings care.
These are just my personal impressions of my own personal experience and I am making no statements about what other people may experience.
From the first call that I made to their office before my surgery, there was confusion and misinformation. I asked very clear and very specific questions and was given completely incorrect information. I made an appointment and was told that I was enrolling in their program - I traveled several hours to the office, staying overnight to be there for what I was told would be an entire day of appointments. When I checked in for my appointment, I requested that they bill my insurance. Since that day several months ago, I have requested that my insurance be billed a total of six times. As of today, it has not yet been billed.
The doctor himself was kind, if not a bit arrogant, but that is typical for a surgeon who owns his own hospital. The care that he gave me was without issue.
I had the misfortune to be verbally abused by their psychologist on the phone. I had been told by the scheduler that it would be possible to arrange a phone consult and when I asked the counselor this question, you would have thought that I had just murdered a member of her family. She was rude, abusive, hostile, and insisted that the doctor did not treat patients like me - really, when I met with the doctor, he agreed to treat me.
The scheduler consistently failed to accurately make my appointments. I was literally driving to their area (three hour ride) and the hospital called to tell me that my appointment was five hours later than I had been told. I had to kick, scream and beg the hospital to get the appointment that I had been promised at the time that I had been promised and made arrangements for.
My impression is that this doctor is very capable, but has a staff in need of customer service and billing training. It should not take six requests to have your insurance billed.
Very personable, great program. The staf is great. This program has a greast after and pre suport groups! I would give him an A!
Dr. Pennings immediately made me feel comfortable and listened to all my questions. He is a great surgeon and I could not have asked for a better surgeon. His staff is amazing, so nice and helpful.
He was very nice, and listened to all I had to say. He explained everything very well, and had a nice bedside (or chairside lol) manner. I look forward to my next appointment with him.
My first impression of Dr. Penning's was how friendly yet professional he was. He said it the way it was but yet in a manner that wasn't offensive...How refreshing. My opinion of him is still the same even though I havn't had any interaction with him since surgery. He has a PA-C that does all the post-op fu visits. I think that if anything could be said in a negative fashion it would be that you have no post-op interaction with the surgeon and just withthe PA-C. I do understand the load needs to be shared but when you signed on for this with the surgeon and that's who you thought every visit would be with your expectations are a bit shattered when you don't see him again after surgery. As far as the office staff at Surgical Bariatrics NW they are very professional and friendly. You feel like a part of the family when your in their office. If your starting out with them and wanting to know something I guess it would be to just trust and do what they ask you to and everything will hopefully work out alright. Their after care program is superb with awesome weekly support groups and a therapist that we all consider our life line!! She's wonderful! Pre-operatively the risks were not only given to us by Dr. Penning's in our office visits but also on a disc to watch at home on your computer. It walks you through the entire surgery and all risks. It was very informative and really helped us understand what we were going to go through. I would give Dr. Penning's and his staff at Surgical Bariatrics the highest rating possible as far as our experience went and is still going. They saved my life and my husbands. As far as which is more important to us, surgical competence vs. bedside manner. I believe both get the job done. You obviously want someone who's going to get you through surgery alive but after the surgery the work just begins. You need a doctor and staff that's going to help you and understand all the woes of post-op and get you through it with understanding and encouragement.
SUPER.......In all aspects, I just wish they would of let me know about lap band, I think I would of taken that method over Rouen Y, paying for it myself would of saved me a lot but all in all very happy with Dr and his staff.
Dr Pennings saved my life. He truly cares about his patients and our lifes. He was informative and professional without being overly \"doctorly\" with his terms, expectations and medical plans. Without Dr Pennings and Surgical NW-- I would not know where I would be now.rnrnI recently had my surgery on December 17, 2007 and everything was great. The staff was wonderful and caring. Truly a great experience.rnrnAftercare makes this program well worth it and makes this a sucessfull WLS.rnrnBoth the surgical compentence and bedside manner are both great. Awesome experience so far!