DULUTH, Ga. — Gwinnett Medical Center (GMC) recently announced that Eileen Javellana, MD, has joined the Center for Weight Management. In addition, weight management services have also broadened to include non-surgical patient options.
As of 2013, Georgia was ranked eighth for highest adult obesity rate in the nation, according to The State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America. Georgia’s adult obesity rate is 30.3 percent, up from 24.5 percent in 2004 and from 10.1 percent in 1990, according to the study.
Debra Proulx, GMC’s director of the Center for Weight Management, says: “Providing the community the tools they need to be healthy is the premise for program growth. We hope patients find this new solution relevant and effective.”
The program includes:
- Weekly support classes with licensed professionals;
- Low calorie meal products; and
- Personalized weight loss treatment plans.
Javellana
Dr. Javellana believes: “Medical weight management provides another health resource. Because weight loss is extremely complex for an overweight patient since they might face multiple health issues, a low calorie meal plan with physician-oversight can be ideal.”
Dr. Javellana earned her medical degree at Wayne State University and completed residency training in Internal Medicine at William Beaumont Hospital in Michigan. Dr. Javellana is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine. She is a member of the American Society of Bariatric Physicians, the American Medical Association and the American College of Physicians. She will see patients in Duluth.
Rebecca Gomez is a staff psychologist with Gwinnett Medical Center’s Center for Weight Management. At intake, she conducts a screening to understand how to provide patient support and to pro-actively identify patterns of behavior that might need addressing.
Gomez
Ms. Gomez says: “There are three phases to the weight management program: reducing, adapting and sustaining. In the reducing phase, patients follow a controlled meal replacement program. I work with a dietician and fitness specialist and together we facilitate classes on a rotational basis designed to introduce healthy eating habits. This phase can last 12 weeks and can be extended as needed.”
She continued: “In the Adapting phase, we reintroduce foods gradually. This 4-week phase begins when patients are approaching or have met their weight loss goals. Throughout the entire program, patients meet with the physician and nurse.
Once patients enter the Sustaining phase, they can continue attending support classes and reach out to facilitators for support.”
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About Gwinnett Medical Center
Gwinnett Medical Center is a nationally-recognized, not-for-profit healthcare network with acute-care hospitals in Lawrenceville and Duluth. In 2014, Gwinnett Medical Center was recognized by Georgia Trend as the top large hospital in the state. Offering cardiovascular, orthopedic and neuroscience specialty care as well as a full continuum of wellness services, GMC’s 4,800 associates and 800 affiliated physicians serve more than 400,000 patients annually. To learn more about how GMC is transforming healthcare, visit gwinnettmedicalcenter.org.
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