Meet the Staff

The New Life Center for Bariatric Surgery Staff is a group of experts in their respective fields with a collective experience in helping patients lose weight for over 75 years! Dr. Boyce has personally performed over 2000 weight loss surgical procedures. Dr. Boyce and Dr. Williams are the only surgeons offering all approved procedures as well as revision, corrective and conversion surgery with an office based multidisciplinary team.

Office Manager

Our Office Manger, Jama Stinnett, is a Tennessee native who has been a nurse since 1980. Ms. Stinnett has been involved in Medical Office administration since 1986 and holds a Certified Professional of Healthcare Quality, a certification offered by the National Association of Healthcare Quality. Safe, healthy and successful weight loss is our team’s number-one goal at the New Life Center for Bariatric Surgery. If you are having difficulty resolving any issue to your satisfaction, please do not hesitate to contact our office manager. We always want to exceed your expectations!

Bariatric Registered Nurse Coordinators

The bariatric Registered Nurse coordinators are specialized nurses with extra training in the needs of the bariatric surgical patient. They are a great resource for the patient and actually carry a cell phone and are available to patients 24 hours a day for medical concerns related to weight loss surgery. They are an integral part of the multidisciplinary team and are instrumental in preparing patients for surgery.

Bariatric Certified Dietitian

Our on-staff registered dietitian offers a crucial key to the success of your weight loss program. Unlike a one-time consultation with a nutritionist, our registered dietitian provides you with ongoing, individualized support and education for your dietary needs as you advance through the stages of weight loss. Krystal Cameron joined our weight loss surgical program in 2007. She is a registered dietitian, who earned her BS in Dietetics from Carson-Newman College. She went on to complete her training and dietetic internship through the State University of New York. Krystal is certified in adult weight management by the Commission on Dietetic Registration. She is committed to helping you achieve your weight loss and health goals.

- “There are no bad foods, only bad food combinations.” – Krystal

Exercise Physiologist

Rebecca Johnson received her bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science from the University of Tennessee and is a certified personal trainer through the American Council on Exercise.  Rebecca has over 11 years of experience in weight loss and health/wellness programs.   Exercise is a very important part of a successful health and weight management plan and exercise instruction in our program goes beyond general recommendations.  Each patient is instructed on the appropriate activity during their hospital stay and the activities to perform in the first month after surgery. Patients follow up with the Exercise Physiologist at regular intervals of 3, 6, and 12 months post operatively where they receive an individualized exercise prescription to improve stamina and strength. We understand the time constraints in our patient’s busy lifestyles so Rebecca selects exercises that involve weight training and cardiovascular stamina to maximize efforts in the shortest amount of time. Exercise along with the proper nutritional plan facilitates maximum fat loss while preventing extreme muscle loss. Lifelong participation in exercise, eating healthy foods, getting better sleep, and behavior changes allow our patients to get and stay healthy forever.

Nurse Practitioner

Kristine Vanhoose, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC, our nurse practitioner works directly with patients to provide close follow up care. Her interactions with the patient, their primary care providers and involved specialists both before and after surgery provide emphasis on monitoring changes in co-morbid conditions and their treatment and keeping the entire medical team updated.

Psychologist

Dr. Greg Foreman, Ph. D, maintains an office within our center in order to provide consistent and convenient psychological support for patients, both before and after surgery. His special focus on the needs of the weight loss surgical patients affords them a foundation to manage the psychological changes needed and experienced around bariatric surgery.

Insurance Pre-Determination Coordinator

The pre-determination coordinators responsibility is to get you approved for your surgery. Within the first couple of days after your initial consultation the coordinator will start to gather all the information that is required by your specific insurance. She will send out all requests to Physicians and will sort through the documentation. If any more information is needed we will inform you.

The coordinator is available by phone if you have any questions. Our philosophy is to do it right the first time so we get you approved for your surgery. If your insurance requires a medically supervised diet, let me know when you have completed your 5th month visit so I can be prepared to send your pre-determination packet as soon as I receive documentation of completion (6th visit).

Patient Advocate

Our full time Patient Advocate works with patients to assist them in beginning the process of obtaining weight-loss surgery. Insurance coverage dictates that patients meet certain requirements in order to be approved for weight loss surgery. The Patient Advocate can help you get started meeting these requirements so that the wait time for weight loss surgery can be minimized. The Patient Advocate works diligently to help you become familiar with your insurance requirements, the pathway to surgery, as well as with our Staff and services at the New Life Center.

Bariatric Patient Coordinator

The bariatric patient coordinators work in the front office and have the initial contact with patients when they call the office and can answer any questions. Patients are assisted in registering for the informational seminar or a consultation with the bariatric surgeon.

The bariatric patient coordinators also assist patients in scheduling recommended appointments for medical clearance of their surgical procedure. Once insurance approval is obtained, the coordinators have the pleasure of calling the patient and scheduling their surgery and preoperative appointments. Patients are fortunate in our program to have a specific coordinator assigned to them so that they have a contact person who is most familiar with their care.

Hospital Bariatric Service Coordinator

Jessica Flanary, RN, the Bariatric Service Coordinator for Parkwest Medical Center, is responsible for coordinating post-operative bariatric services and working in collaboration with the New Life Center for Bariatric Surgery providing a continuum of care between pre-operative services and the hospitalization.  Jessica rounds daily on all post-operative patients and facilitates discharges. Jessica also writes and circulates a Bariatric Newsletter, which provides hospital-wide education regarding bariatric surgery and instructs hospital staff regarding the special care of our patients. For those interested in signing up through the office, Jessica leads a complementary pre-operative bariatric tour of the Bariatric suites at Parkwest Medical Center. Jessica also co-moderates the Parkwest support group each month and oversees both the Bariatric Angel Program and the Bariatric Ambassador Program. Training sessions for both programs are offered monthly by Jessica at Parkwest Medical Center.