WISCONSIN
BELOIT
Beloit Clinic Physical Therapy Department
Joshua Shucha, ATC, PT - Physical Therapist
Shirley Bender, PTA
Kayce Brooks, PTA
1905 Huebbe Parkway
Beloit, WI 53511
608-364-1270
FAX: 608-364-1287
I was referred to this Physical Therapy Group for rehab
following knee surgery. They have all been WONDERFUL. They
have wide seats in the waiting area that easily accommodate my
50" hips. Their equipment is adjustable to accommodate bodies of
all sizes and shapes. They have "paper shorts" (instead of
gowns) that could accommodate a person with 60" hips. They are
calm and nonjudgemental about supersized clients. Rather than
assuming they know how a fat person experiences their body, they
will sometimes ASK, non-judgementally, whether a particular
movement or exercise is difficult to perform due to size. When I
brought up weight, they were insistent that weight had nothing
to do with my rehab. ("Everybody who can stand and walk has
muscles strong enough to support their own body no matter what
size they are.") I walked out of there after every session
feeling GOOD about what my body CAN do rather than negative.
KENOSHA
Rodrigo Mata III, MD, Primary Care
Kenosha, Wisconsin
262-652-2710
I have had my primary care physician, Dr. Rodrigo Mata, for
years. First, I think he has good medical knowledge. He has
done very well in managing my various chronic conditions, most
of which are likely to be weight-related. I don't know if he
meets all the formal criteria for "fat friendly" that are listed
on the website. For example, he does insist on weighing me.
I do consider him "fat friendly" in that he always treats me
with respect and sensitivity. He never scolds or chastizes me
about my weight. He is a general practitioner, with a
subspecialty in bariatric medicine. He understands the
difficulties with losing weight - unlike the physicians who
expect you to lose weight simply because they hand you some
over-photocopied version of a diet plan.
MADISON
Paul Wertch, GP (NOTE: Reported not to be seeing new patients)
Cal Bruce, GP
Wildwood Family Clinic
Madison, WI
608-221-1501
Dr. Wertch:
He has been my GP for 20 years. He has never prescribed dieting
as a primary cure for any presenting problem. He has
occaisionally suggested that certain ailments might not be such
a problem if I weighed a bit less but has never been insistant
about it. He respects my feelings on dieting. He has seen me go
through enough yo-yo dieting to know better than to try to put
me on another diet. All he asks is that I try to make
wiser/healthier but not necessarily thinner dietary choices.
(ie. do I really NEED to drink 2 liters of Mountain Dew every
day? Isn't there some other - less sugary - way I can satisfy my
craving/need for liquids? -- yes there is) There are armless
chairs in the waiting room... No one there has tried to weigh me
since that last time I refused to get on the scale. He refuses
to prescribe Redux and doesn't believe in surgery for weight
loss.
Dr. Bruce:
Last year I tried to see Dr. Wertch and couldn't because he had
too many patients. I ended up seeing Dr. Cal Bruce who was
pretty nice. He didn't bother me about my weight, but I also
didn't feel as if he were happy with it. The waiting room only
has a SMALL (like two chairs) area that is comfortable for a
supersized person, and it is near the children's play area.
(Which means it's hard to get the seat sometimes.) The front
desk people aren't very nice, either!
Deborah Roussos, MS, RD, CD, Registered Dietitian
Madison, WI
As a dietitian, she advocates Health At Every Size and believes
both dieting and WLS are hazardous to health. She encourages
weight stability at whatever level is healthful and reasonable
for you (not based on bmi), incorporation of enjoyable movement
(without the goal of weight loss), and optimum nutrition. She
discourages weighing and self-criticism. Plus she is an overall
wonderful medical professional- she gives great helpful notes
and resources, helps you set and keep reasonable goals, and
improves your self-image. I highly recommend her if you want a
general nutrition consultation (where she will absolutely not
make assumptions about your eating habits or health based on
your weight), if you need to modify your diet in response to
illness, or if you suffer from an eating disorder.
Jasmine St. John MS, LMFT, Individual & couples & alternative sexuality
http://www.jsjtherapy.com/
Madison, WI
608-279-3900
jsj (at) jsjtherapy.com
Self-referred.
Specializing in alternative sexuality and relationship
configurations, the therapist works to promote a strong sense of
self with each client. Each person has a sensuality and strength
that is based on their individuality and not the social
convention of size. Therapy works to promote acceptance on all
levels with an emphasis on sex-body-positive expression.
MANITOC
R. Halverson, OB/GYN
Woodland Clinic
Manitowoc, WI
I am seeing the nicest ob/gyn for my 3rd pregnancy. He came
right out and said that I shouldn't woory about my weight being
a factor in my pg, he will watch everything and that is the only
time he has mentioned my weight. His bedside manner is second to
none and his staff is superb.-- Maureen Drewieske,
drewieske@netscape.net
MILWAUKEE
Terre Borkovec, MD, OB/GYN
Milwaukee, WI
414-289-9669
Dr. Borkovec is wonderful. She knows there is no quick fix for
weight. She would tell me that she would like to see me weigh
less before I got pregnant and since I've been pregnant, she has
only told me once, "Well, I'd have liked to see you weigh less
before you got pregnant, but we'll work with what we've got!"
But that was it. She has never made me feel bad for my weight.
As I progress through my pregnancy, she does not comment on my
weight gain (or loss as the case may be some weeks). Her office
has some armless chairs, but also "love-seats" as well. They
provide have a large blood-pressure cuff and I *think* they have
larger gowns, but can't say for sure. Because of my size, some
OB's would not even attempt to listen for fetal heart-tones
externally until past 15 weeks, but Dr. Borkovec started at 10
weeks and has found them everytime. When I've had medical
problems, weight has never been a factor with her to resolving
the problems. After multiple miscarriages, she just kept
plugging away to find a reason, not just tell me I needed to
lose weight.
Walter Fuhr, MD, family medicine
Lakeshore Medical Clinic
Milwaukee, Wi
(414) 744-6589
I am a 275 lb woman, and get anxious when seeing new doctors
because of how I fear they will address my weight. Dr Fuhr
didn't mention my weight, but just asked "are you active?" And
"do you watch what you eat?" He never once made assumptions
about me or my body, and when I said that I work out at least 5
days a week and I do watch what I eat, he never broached the
subject of my weight. EXCELLENT bedside manner.
James Hare, MD, family practice
Aurora Healthcare Clinic
Silver Spring and Fond du Lac
Milwaukee, WI
Dr. James Hare was my doctor for 18 years and saw me fat, thin,
fatter, thin, and fatter still (because we all know how well
starvation diets work!). He did not have exceptional knowledge
about obesity, but he was kind and non-judgmental and willing to
listen to my perspective on health issues and other size-related
issues. He didn't blame every health problem I had on my size,
and recognized that after starvation dieting, the metabolism
slows down to accomodate the "famine" and, 20 years ago, it was
very rare to find that awareness in a physician. -- Karen
Gleason (kgwriter@execpc.com)
Amanpreet Sethi, MD, Family Medicine
Aurora Health Center
1517 RiverCenter Dr., Milwaukee, WI 53212 (Aurora Downtown)
414-283-8444
Description: I have been seeing Dr. Sethi for 9 months. During
this time she has not brought up my weight or attributed any of
my health issues to it. The staff do weigh me at each visit,
along with blood pressure/pulse, but have not mentioned my
weight at any point. Dr. Sethi is also a larger person, which
helps me feel more comfortable bringing things up with her. She
is LGB and trans-friendly. -- Grace Palmer (gracedpalmer@gmail.com)
MONROE
James Turek, M.D., Obstetrics/Gynecology
Monroe Clinic and Hospital
515 22nd Avenue
Monroe WI 53566
Phone:608-324-2250
Description -- I am overweight and not only recieved treatment
but he never told me I had to lose weight. He went full force in
to trying to help us get pregnant with no regards to my weight.
Nyckee luckemonkey_6@yahoo.com
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