Skip to main content
ER WAIT TIME ....
Nashoba Valley Medical Center
MAKE APPOINTMENT
ER WAIT TIME ....
Search
MAKE APPOINTMENT
  • Services
    • Behavioral Health/Geriatric Psychiatry
    • Breast Care
    • Diabetes/Endocrinology
    • Emergency Services
    • Eye Care Institute
    • Imaging/Radiology
    • Orthopedics
    • Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation

    View our Full List of Services

  • DoctorFinder™
    Find a Provider Near You
    Search Now
    Make an Appointment

    Making an appointment with any of our doctors at any of our facilities is easy. Whether you need a doctor who speaks a second language or need an appointment close to home or work, we can help.

    Make an Appointment

  • Patient & Visitor Information
    Patients
    • Your Patient Experience
    • Patient & Family Advisory Council
    • Billing & Payment
    • Send us Feedback
    • Patient Rights & Responsibilities

    More Information

    Contact Information

    Main Number: 978-784-9000
    Find a Doctor: 978-784-9990
    Billing: 844-660-0100
    Media & Press: [email protected]

    Patient Portal Sign In

    Visitors
    • Visitor Information
    • Directions
    • Friends of NVMC Scholarship Application

    Visiting Hours Family and friends may visit a patient at any time during their hospital stay. The only restrictions on visiting hours would be based on a patient's medical condition, or if limitations are set by their physician.

     

  • Events & Classes
  • Contact
    Contact

    Nashoba Valley Hospital
    200 Groton Road
    Ayer, MA 01432

    Main Number: 978-784-9000
    DoctorFinder: 800-488-5959
    Billing: 844-660-0100
    Media & Press: [email protected]

    Find a SMG Location Near You

    StewardConnect Patient Portal

    Our patient portal allows you to exchange messages with your health care team, review and pay billing statements, request appointments, research health topics, review personal health information, and update your profile and contact information.

    Patient Portal Sign In

  • About Us
    About Nashoba Valley Medical Center

    Nashoba Valley Medical Center is a community hospital serving 16 communities in North Central Massachusetts. Nashoba Valley Medical Center boasts a highly qualified medical staff with 115 active and associate member physicians offering community-based primary care and a wide range of specialty services.

    • About Us
    • Awards & Recognition
    • Community Health & Outreach
    • Senior Leadership Team
    • Newsroom & Media
    • Careers / For Professionals
    • Satellite Locations
    About Steward Health Care

    Steward Health Care is the largest private, tax-paying physician-led health care network in the United States. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Steward operates 37 hospitals in the United States and the country of Malta that regularly receive top awards for quality and safety. The company employs approximately 42,000 health care professionals. The Steward network includes multiple urgent care centers and skilled nursing facilities, substantial behavioral health services, over 7,900 beds under management, and approximately 2.2 million full risk covered lives through the company's managed care and health insurance services.

     

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram

  1. Nashoba Valley Medical Center
  2. Services Directory
  3. Weight Loss

Weight Loss

Weight Loss
We are here to help you find what you need.
  • About ServiceABOUT
  • Our TeamOUR TEAM
  • Make an AppointmentMAKE APPOINTMENT
  • ResourcesRESOURCES
The Center for Weight Control at Nashoba Valley Medical Center offers both surgical and medical options and support services to help patients lead healthier lives and achieve weight loss goals.

Weight Loss Surgery at Nashoba Valley

Our surgeons, dietitians, and behavioral therapists work closely with our patients, providing education on weight loss methods and helping each individual decide which options are best. Compassionate, personalized care includes regular monitoring to ensure that weight is lost in a healthy and sustainable way.

Weight Loss Surgery

We understand that being overweight is a medical condition that poses serious health risks, such as heart disease and diabetes, and also impacts your ability to live an active and healthy lifestyle. For people who have struggled with their weight and have been unable to maintain long-term weight loss, bariatric surgery may be the most effective means to lose weight and keep it off. 

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), you may qualify for weight loss (bariatric) surgery based on the following criteria:
  1. You are 18 years or older.
  2. You have a body mass index (BMI of 35 or greater) and have related medical problems.
  3. You have medical problems that are related to your being overweight that can be improved after bariatric surgery.
  4. You do not have medical problems that would make your risk of undergoing anesthesia or surgery too high.
  5. You have failed physician-supervised diets.
  6. You demonstrate the ability to lose weight during the preoperative evaluation process.
  7. You do not have psychiatric or substance abuse problems that would make it unlikely that you would be successful with weight loss after surgery.
  8. You have sufficient willpower and commitment to make the permanent lifestyle changes that are required and are permanent after the surgery.
  9. You educate yourself about your disease, the surgery, the post-surgical diet, post-surgical life changes and have reasonable expectations.
Surgical weight loss procedures include:
  • Gastric bypass – a procedure in which the upper portion of the stomach is surgically stapled to separate it from the rest of the stomach, changing the path food takes so it bypasses much of the stomach and part of the small intestine.
     
  • Sleeve gastrectomy (also known as gastric sleeve) – is a non-reversible procedure where approximately 85 percent of the stomach is removed, the remaining taking on a tube shape. This laparoscopic surgery only calls for a few small incisions, leading to a safer and quicker recovery for patients.

 

Non-Surgical Weight Loss Options

If your body mass index (BMI) is less than 40 you may benefit from medical weight loss. Use the BMI calculator below to see if our medical weight loss program is right for you.

The Center for Weight Control offers the following non-surgical weight loss options:
  • A Medical Bariatric Program that helps patients lose weight without using surgical interventions. The focus of the program is on treating obesity, which truly affects every part of the body, and by treating the obesity the other comorbidities a patient may be experiencing are then also treated. Nashoba’s medical bariatrician services provide patients with a three-prong multidisciplinary approach, which includes: a nutrition analysis with a bariatric physician who analyzes what a person eats and reviews how many calories they should be taking in, along with teaching them about what types of foods they should and shouldn’t be eating and how to control portion sizes; behavioral therapy, which treats the behavioral reason why a patient is eating by reviewing their behaviors in order to help them recognize their behaviors and then develop a plan to help change these behaviors; and an exercise program where patients work with an ACE-certified personal trainer to develop individually tailored exercise plans.
     
  • The OPTIFAST® Program, which is a medically monitored weight management solution that combines Lifestyle Education Series classes with a low-calorie diet to help patients change eating and exercising habits. OPTIFAST patients work with a team of health care professionals, including primary care physicians (PCP) and Nashoba Valley Medical Center's dietitian to help achieve long-term weight loss. The program, which usually lasts between 18 to 26 weeks, utilizes a full meal replacement plan that transitions to self-prepared “everyday” meals in conjunction with comprehensive patient education and support. During this time, the dietitian and patient's PCP track and monitor the patient's weight, lab work, and other factors.
     
  • Nutrition counseling with the dietitian to evaluate a patient's diet and lifestyle. Patients learn about food and activity goal setting as a key component of a healthier lifestyle.

In addition to our weight loss services and nutrition counseling, patients can take advantage of the Center for Weight Control's discounted memberships to local fitness centers to help them further reach their weight loss goals.

Our Team

  • Michael Jiser, MD, FACS
    Michael Jiser, MD, FACS
    Weight Loss, Surgical Services
  • Theresa Piotrowski, MD
    Theresa Piotrowski, MD
    Weight Loss
  • Elaine Davis, RN
    Weight Loss
  • Caitlin Silva, RD, LDN
    Registered Dietitian

Resources

    Center for Weight Control Weight Loss Surgery Brochure At the Center for Weight Control, our surgeons, dietitians, and behavioral therapists work closely with our patients, providing education on weight loss methods and helping each individual decide which options are best.
    Nashoba OPTIFAST® FAQ Frequently Asked Questions of the OPTIFAST® Program
    Michael Jiser, MD Listen to Dr. Jiser's Interview on WPKZ AM 1280 Listen to Bariatric Surgeon Dr. Michael Jiser talk with WPKZ AM 1280 K-Zone hosts Travis and Sherman about obesity, weight loss and weight loss surgery.
Service Directory

Center for Weight Control
978-784-9313 or 978-862-LOSE (5673)
200 Groton Road
Ayer, MA 01432

Service Lines

PT/Rehabilitation
Orthopedics
Emergency
Imaging/Radiology
Pain Management

Diabetes
Eye Care Institute
Geri Psychiatry 
Breast Care
Weight Loss

 

Services Directory
Patients

Your Patient Experience
Billing & Payment
Price List
Send us Feedback

VisitorsVisitor Information
Directions

Our Policies Privacy Policy
Site Disclaimer
Vendors
Nondiscrimination Notice 
Interpreter Services
Accessibility 

 

Contact Us
Main Number:
978-784-9000
Find A Doctor:
978-784-9990
Billing:
844-660-0100

Nashoba Valley Medical Center
200 Groton Road, Ayer, MA 01432

Find a SMG Location Near You
About Us

Awards & Recognition
Community Health & Outreach
Mission & Values
Senior Leadership Team
News Room & Media
Careers
Satellite Locations

StewardToday Receive the latest news from StewardToday!

By submitting your details, you are agreeing to receive occasional communications about Steward Health Care resources, events, or services. You also acknowledge that you have read and understood our Privacy Statement.
Copyright © 2019 Steward Health Care Logo Steward Health Care