About Via Christi Weight Management

Justin Moore, MD, Medical Director of Via Christi Weight Management and Division Chief of Endocrinology at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita.

Dr. Moore received his Doctor of Medicine from the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita and is board certified in adult endocrinology and internal medicine. His advanced training includes an internship in internal medicine at Internal Medicine Spokane, and a fellowship in endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill

Dr. Moore's motivation
"My understanding of the interaction between nutrition, exercise, and obesity began with my undergraduate degree in Nutrition Science from Kansas State University. My interests and credentials in nutrition, behavioral lifestyle management, obesity and diabetes have made me passionate about providing excellent care and motivation to patients who battle diseases caused by their unhealthy lifestyles. I am a strong believer in the behavioral work we do with our patients Via Christi Weight Management, and I see it as a model for treating persons with medical conditions caused by their lifestyle. "

Brent A. Lancaster, M.D., general surgeon at Wichita Surgical Specialists and Clinical Assistant Professor University of Kansas School of Medicine, Medical Director of Bariatric Surgery for Via Christi Weight Management - Via Christi Hospital on St. Francis. – Wichita, Department of Surgery

Dr. Lancaster did his preliminary surgery residency at the Mayo Graduate Medical Education, Mayo Foundation, Rochester, Minnesota, and his general surgery residency at the University of Kansas School of Medicine, Wichita, Kansas. He received his Doctor of Medicine from Texas A&M University College of Medicine, College Station, Texas in 1990. Dr. Lancaster was Board Certified in surgery from the American Board of Surgery in 1997. His primary areas of interest and expertise are endocrine surgery, laparoscopic surgery and laparoscopic bariatric surgery.

Dr. Howes, M.D., A general surgeon at Wichita Surgical Specialists, Clinical Instructor at University of Kansas School of Medicine – Wichita, Department of Surgery.

Kate Jantz, Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner and Bariatric Surgery Coordinator, received her Bachelor of Nursing Science from Bethel College (North Newton, Kan.) and her Master of Nursing Science Advanced Registered Family Nurse Practitioner from Wichita State University. She is certified through American Nurses Credentialing Center.

Prior to joining the Via Christi Weight Management team and focusing on medical and surgical weight management, her experiences as a registered nurse and as an advanced nurse practitioner included work with patients with eating disorders at the Menninger Clinic. At a practice in Wichita, she coordinated research for clinical trials of pharmaceutical and cardiovascular devices. As a nurse practitioner, she worked in a cardiovascular and gastrointestinal practice.

Kate’s motivation
"As a nurse practitioner, I have developed a particular interest in health promotion and disease prevention. My encounters with overweight patients in cardiology and family practice have shaped my career, leading me to preventive medicine. Obesity contributes to a significant variety of disease processes; therefore, I am passionate about what we do at Via Christi Weight Management. I enjoy educating and encouraging our patients as they work to overcome issues with food and change their lifestyle."

Bobbie G. Paull-Forney, Clinical Outcomes Specialist RN, started her career with Via Christi Hospital on St. Francis in 1998 as an exercise specialist in the hospital owned Health & Fitness Center. Prior to that she was a double major at Friends University and received Bachelor of Science degrees in Business Management and Exercise Science. She is a Masters of Public Health candidate at University of Kansas Medical School, Wichita.

In 1999 she accepted an offer from the Prevention & Health Center (later renamed Via Christi Weight Management) to be a health educator. To broaden her scope of skills and patient care responsibilities, Bobbie continued teaching at Via Christi Weight Management while she went back to school at Hesston College and received her Associate of Science-Nursing degree in 2003. As a registered nurse, she worked briefly as a staff nurse before returning to her chosen profession as a nurse health educator in wellness and weight management at Via Christi Weight Management in 2003.

A key aspect of the Via Christi Weight Management programs that helped Bobbie choose her career is the use of outcomes data to guide behavioral and medical patient care decisions at SFL. She enjoys managing and analyzing data as a means of supporting the team in providing excellent patient care and outcomes. Bobbie is currently enrolled in the Master of Public Health program at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita.

Bobbie’s motivation
"I desire to reach the public through health education and promotion. Via Christi Weight Management provides an opportunity to teach a special population of people how to improve their quality of life and how to prevent chronic diseases through data-driven behavior modification. I have a passion for my career because of past personal issues surrounding food. I believe there is hope for every person to overcome their personal challenges surrounding body weight and eating issues. Via Christi Weight Management provides valuable behavioral modification tools that assist individuals on their journey to overcoming these challenges."

Dena Marten, Nurse Health Educator, joined the Via Christi Weight Management team in 1998. Prior to working for Via Christi, she received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing with a Psychology minor from Fort Hays State University and her Master of Education in Counseling from Wichita State University She worked as an inpatient and outpatient nurse in medical, surgical and oncology units before she redirected her career to Behavioral Health, where she coordinated and delivered stress management programs in the hospital and throughout the community.

Dena began work as a nurse health educator with the HMR Program for Medical Weight Management™ and in 2002 further developed her knowledge and skills for the Surgical Weight Management Program. For both programs she provides nursing assessments and care coordination, and she teaches classes.

Dena's motivation
"I have the best of all worlds. As a health educator, I enjoy helping patients learn and practice the tools that will help them manage their health long term, and as a nurse, I'm privileged to see the improvements in patients' health as they practice these skills. I am also fortunate to be surrounded by a wonderful team of professionals, who make working at Via Christi Weight Management a pleasure."

Sheryl Baker, Health Educator, has been very active in wellness and lifestyle coaching throughout her career and long before she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Wichita State University in 2005. She began as an exercise specialist for the Opti-Fast program offered at St. Francis Hospital in 1990. When that program closed two year later, she continued her work as an exercise specialist at the St. Francis Employee Fitness Center and later at both campus-based fitness centers operated by Via Christi. There she developed a reputation for leading high-energy aerobics classes. During this time, she started teaching some of the weight management classes for the Prevention & Health Center (later renamed Via Christi Weight Management), and by 2004 she had become a full-time health educator, bringing her hard-energy charisma to her weight management classes.

Sheryl has been active in wellness education since 1990, serving not only Via Christi employees and patients but also volunteering at health fairs, seminars, and special events sponsored by Wichita community groups and corporations.

Sheryl's motivation
"I enjoy being a ‘coach.’ I love teaching lifestyle skills that enhance a person's health not just for today but for a lifetime. There is also the ‘cheerleader’ in me that continually encourages and motivates each person I work with as they practice skills and see results. My fulfillment comes from seeing someone take control of their health through diet and exercise to achieve goals they never thought could come to fruition — and for some who come to us that means just living through the next year. This means not only do they experience a better quality of life for a longer period of time, it also means that they will continue to share a fulfilling life as a father, grandmother, son, aunt or friend. Life definitely has a ripple effect and good health knows no boundaries."

Helen Ramsey, Clinical Dietitian and Health Educator, is a licensed and registered dietitian as well as a certified diabetes educator. She received her Bachelor of Science in Dietetics from Indiana State University, Terre Haute, and she worked toward her master’s in Nutrition at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Other than working four years at St. Anthony Hospital in Oklahoma City and one year at St. Francis Medical Center in Tulsa, Helen’s professional career has been with St. Francis Regional Medical Center/Via Christi Hospital on St. Francis since 1977. She provided nutritional assessments, counseling and education and worked in Cardiac Rehabilitation and the Diabetes Treatment Center. She was a consulting dietitian with Family Medicine physician groups and with long term care facilities.

Prior to joining the team at Prevention & Health Center (later renamed Via Christi Weight Management) in 2001, Helen developed the nutrition protocols for the Heart Transplant and Cardiac Rehabilitation teams, and she co-authored materials for their patients. She also facilitated the heart transplant support group.

The expertise Helen gained with these programs has been especially applicable to the focus of her work at Via Christi Weight Management. She developed nutrition protocols for the gastric bypass surgery program. She wrote the curriculum for and teaches nutritional lifestyle education classes for the surgical weight management program. In addition to the pre-operative nutrition classes, Helen teaches post-operative classes where she and the patients problem-solve together how to get their proper nutrition and maximize their weight loss. In addition to working with surgical patients, Helen teaches in the HMR Program for Weight Management™.

Helen’s motivation
"I have taught in a variety of nutrition education areas throughout my career. I enjoy helping people improve or maintain health, no matter what their age. I particularly enjoy the outpatient area as I can be on the journey with them and see the success they achieve. I also enjoy the challenges of new program development and the continued changes in the health care field. One of the benefits of working for Via Christi Weight Management is the interdisciplinary team concept of all professions collaborating for the patients' well-being."

Kathryn Gaeddert, Manager, came to Via Christi from a very different career path and background. After receiving her Bachelor of Science in History and Social Sciences from Bethel College (North Newton, Kan.) and graduate studies in Anthropology at Indiana University, she worked in the museum field for more than 20 years before coming to Via Christi.

Kathryn began working with Dr. Early 1996 as manager of the Prevention & Health Center (renamed Via Christi Weight Management in 2005). Their goal was to build a practice that included the full continuum of care for people who wanted to lose 10 to 200 pounds or more. They also were interested in developing wellness opportunities for Via Christi employees, patients and the community. In addition to the weight management programs, Kathryn also managed Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation, Diabetes Education Program, and Via Christi’s two campus-based fitness centers.

Kathryn’s motivation
"When I first met Dr. Early and his team, they were seeing 10 patients a week in the HMR Program for Weight Management™. Being able to help guide the program’s growth from 10 patients per week to more than 300 in a few short years was very exciting and gratifying. But even more rewarding was seeing how both the medical and surgical weight management programs have changed the lives of our patients. Not only do they have significant weight loss but they experience significant improvement in the quality of their lives. Many have overcome significant health issues because they are committed to exercising and making healthier food choices a daily part of their lifestyle. I know from the bottom of my heart, these changes don’t just happen. They happen because the successful patients are committed to making the changes and because we have a very skilled and caring staff that reinforces the learning of new behaviors."

Louise Newman, Development Coordinator, has had wide-ranging experiences working in the field of health and fitness. Her career as a certified personal trainer, health club manager and weight loss counselor spans more than 26 years and comes as a surprise to herself and family. Louise’s years of music education included the Royal Academy of Music in London, which she attended at 17, along with Reginald Kenneth Dwight “Elton John” and Annie Lennox.

Her work with Via Christi Weight Management began in 2005. Typically, she is the first person with whom people talk when contacting Via Christi Weight Management. Louise’s role is to answer all phone inquiries about our programs, provide the orientation seminars for all prospective patients, and to open new markets for the weight management programs. Each new inquiry is very important to her, and she tries to personalize an understanding for each prospective patient of how they can successfully lose weight and improve their health. Louise does this very simply by being sincere. She firmly believes that people do not care how much you know until they know how much you care about them.

Louise’s motivation
"Successful weight loss management requires a comprehensive approach. Like practicing the piano, learning to use the tools for effective weight management takes practice. Our programs teach our patients the pieces they need and supports them as they practice. Then together we celebrate their new, healthier lifestyle!

I feel very fortunate that I have the opportunity to help someone start on their journey of improving their quality of life. Not only do I make new friends every month, but I also get to watch their progress. I notice how each week their attitudes improve. They gain better mobility. And I’m very excited when they tell me of their need for fewer medications. It is very rewarding, and I’m excited to be a part of the Via Christi Weight Management team."

Juliane Johnson, Health Educator, came to Via Christi Weight Management from a background in social work, case management, and education coordination, specifically working with the issues of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Emporia State University and a Masters degree in Social Work from the University of Kansas. Juliane has worked for the past 9 years with the SANE/SART Program here at Via Christi Hospital on St. Francis, in coordination with the Wichita Area Sexual Assault Center.

She brings commitment and a drive to help people build a healthier lifestyle to her current position as a Health Educator with Via Christi Weight Management.

Juliane's motivation
"Health and fitness is a challenge, it is a journey not a single moment in time. It takes a willingness to change behaviors, a desire to develop new skills, and the commitment to make it a lifestyle transformation. I feel extremely privileged to be on this journey with each patient and to be the one to provide them the opportunity to learn these new skills. Part of my teaching style will include helping patients understand that weight loss is only one part of a healthy lifestyle. Once they lose the weight, it is important for them to continue on in their learning process in order to maintain that loss. I am really happy to be joining the team at Via Christi Weight Management, as the staff has a vested interest in providing patients the best possible care and a learning environment that promotes success in a supportive way."

Shelly Ewertz, Health Educator, started working for Via Christi shortly after she received her Bachelor of Science degree in exercise science at Wichita State in 1998. Her career began at the Via Christi Health and Wellness Center as an exercise specialist doing personal training and teaching water and land aerobics, senior fitness programs and other fitness classes for the Center membership.

Shelly became a Health Educator with the HMR Program for Weight Management at Via Christi Weight Management in 1999. In addition to teaching the weight management classes, she is a member of the bariatric surgery team and advocates on behalf of individuals wanting gastric bypass or gastric banding procedures to their health insurance companies.

Shelly’s motivation
"I enjoy helping and seeing people make the lifestyle changes throughout the whole program. It’s very rewarding to help someone not only improve their health but to be with them as they change their life. Lifestyle changes are not easy and I’m very happy to be here for patients when things are going great as well as the challenging times. I have learned just as much from my patients as they have from me. It's great to be a coach on this team."