Philip Ernest, MD, FACS
Medical Director and Surgeon
Dr. Ernest was raised in Baltimore, Maryland and joined the Navy after graduating from high school. He served as a Helicopter Rescue Swimmer and travelled around the world deploying with the Seventh Fleet. After serving in the military, Dr. Ernest attended Prescott College in Prescott, Arizona and attained a B.A. with a double major in Political and National Security Studies and Outdoor Education. He worked in the outdoor field assisting those struggling with substance abuse through wilderness therapy programs. Dr. Ernest developed an interest in medicine through these years and pursued a medical degree, graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University. He then completed a General Surgery residency at Saint Joseph’s hospital in Denver in 2013. There he focused on advanced minimally invasive surgery and weight loss surgery. Dr. Ernest is the medical director of the Metabolic and Bariatric Institute. He has a passion for helping our community find health and wellness through weight loss both surgically and medically. Dr. Ernest is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a member of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery and has a keen interest in improving the quality and safety of surgical care.
James Boyd, MD, FACS
Surgeon
Dr. Boyd received his Bachelor of Science from Brigham Young University in Microbiology in 2001. He completed his Doctor of Medicine in 2006 at the Medical College of Wisconsin, and his general surgery residency at Saint Joseph Hospital in Denver in 2011. He is a board certified general surgeon and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.
His interests include: trauma surgery, treatment of the injured patient, robotic and laparoscopic minimally invasive surgery, benign and malignant diseases of the colon, and surgical treatment of reflux disease.
Meghan Ritz, MPH, PA-C
Physician Assistant and Assistant Medical Director
Ms. Ritz holds a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, VA. She earned her Master of Health Science, Physician Assistant, from Quinnipiac University in Hamden, CT. She holds a Master of Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley. She has spent the past ten years as a Physician Assistant at Northern Navajo Medical Center where she fulfilled a variety of clinical and administrative roles. In addition to practicing primary care, she developed and implemented a Metabolic Clinic, operated the hospital’s occupational health program, provided care for chronic Hepatitis C patients and served as Vice Chief of Staff.
Vicky Cora, MS, RD, LD
Registered Dietitian
Ms. Cora completed her Bachelor and Masters in Science with a focus in Clinical Nutrition at New York University. She holds the Adult Weight Management Certification Level 1 and 2 from the American Dietetic Association. She has been part of multiple bariatric programs throughout the United States and is a proud military spouse.
Medical Assistants
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Customer Service Representatives
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