A Bariatric Center of Excellence
Support Groups
Facebook Support Group
Are you on Facebook? If so, for patients of Dr. Merriman ONLY, we have a closed and private Support Group
Not on Facebook? It is easy to sign up. All you need is an email address. Many patients have joined Facebook just to be a part of this group which is so critical to their pre and post operative support.
Click here and then click "Join Group" to be a part of this support group.
Support Groups
Support Groups are held for Dr. Merriman's Patients and their guests (no children please) in person, once a quarter in our office at 949 Olive St. They are held the second Thursday of the month in the months of February, May, August and November. Email and Facebook reminders are sent out prior to the group meetings.
These groups are also videoed and shown LIVE on Facebook on our Closed, Private Support Group Page. They can also be viewed later by clicking the VIDEOS tab on the page.
For additional resources for support, click here.
Privacy Policy
What information do we collect?
We collect information from you when you register on our site.
When ordering or registering on our site, as appropriate, you may be asked to enter your: name, e-mail address, mailing address, phone number, credit card information, social security number or Insurance information. You may, however, visit our site anonymously.
What do we use your information for?
Any of the information we collect from you may be used in one of the following ways:
- To personalize your experience
(your information helps us to better respond to your individual needs) - To improve customer service
(your information helps us to more effectively respond to your customer service requests and support needs) - To process transactions
Your information, whether public or private, will not be sold, exchanged, transferred, or given to any other company for any reason whatsoever, without your consent, other than for the express purpose of delivering the purchased product or service requested.
- To send periodic emails
The email address you provide for order processing, may be used to send you information and updates pertaining to your order, in addition to receiving occasional company news, updates, related product or service information, etc.
Note: If at any time you would like to unsubscribe from receiving future emails, we include detailed unsubscribe instructions at the bottom of each email.
How do we protect your information?
We implement a variety of security measures to maintain the safety of your personal information when you enter, submit, or access your personal information.
We offer the use of a secure server. All supplied sensitive/credit information is transmitted via Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology and then encrypted into our Payment gateway providers database only to be accessible by those authorized with special access rights to such systems, and are required to?keep the information confidential.
After a transaction, your private information (credit cards, social security numbers, financials, etc.) will be kept on file for more than 60 days in order to handle your healthcare requests and future needs.
Do we use cookies?
Yes. Cookies are small files that a site or its service provider transfers to your computers hard drive through your Web browser (if you allow) that enables the sites or service providers systems to recognize your browser and capture and remember certain information.
We use cookies to compile aggregate data about site traffic and site interaction so that we can offer better site experiences and tools in the future. We may contract with third-party service providers to assist us in better understanding our site visitors. These service providers are not permitted to use the information collected on our behalf except to help us conduct and improve our business.
Do we disclose any information to outside parties?
We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer to outside parties your personally identifiable information. This does not include trusted third parties who assist us in operating our website, conducting our business, or servicing you, so long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential. We may also release your information when we believe release is appropriate to comply with the law, enforce our site policies, or protect ours or others rights, property, or safety. However, non-personally identifiable visitor information may be provided to other parties for marketing, advertising, or other uses.
Third party links
Occasionally, at our discretion, we may include or offer third party products or services on our website. These third party sites have separate and independent privacy policies. We therefore have no responsibility or liability for the content and activities of these linked sites. Nonetheless, we seek to protect the integrity of our site and welcome any feedback about these sites.
California Online Privacy Protection Act Compliance
Because we value your privacy we have taken the necessary precautions to be in compliance with the California Online Privacy Protection Act. We therefore will not distribute your personal information to outside parties without your consent.
Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act Compliance
We are in compliance with the requirements of COPPA (Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act), we do not collect any information from anyone under 13 years of age. Our website, products and services are all directed to people who are at least 13 years old or older.
HIPAA
We are HIPAA compliant and additional information concerning these policies will be provided to you upon your first office visit.
Online Privacy Policy Only
This online privacy policy applies only to information collected through our website and not to information collected offline.
Your Consent
By using our site, you consent to our privacy policy.
Changes to our Privacy Policy
If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes on this page.
Contacting Us
If there are any questions regarding this privacy policy you may contact us.
Contact Freedom from Obesity
New Patients (318) 222-4282
Main Office Number (318) 222-3132
Freedom From Obesity®
Surgical Specialist LLC
949 Olive Street Shreveport, LA 71104
For an emergency call 911 or visit you nearest emergency room:
Dr. Merriman sees emergencies at Christus Highland Emergency Room.
Current patients with issues after business hours, please dial 318.222.3132 and you will automatically be connected to our answering service, who will put you in touch with the doctor on-call.
Positive patient service is very important to us at Surgical Specialists. Because we want your call to be answered as quickly as possible, we have the following phone options:
| Option #1 – | Megan Ho - Patient Care Coordinator & Practice Administration |
| All New Patients | |
| Option #2 – | Gail Chreene - Patient Reception |
| Current Patients: Schedule or Change Appointments or Immediate Assistance | |
| Option #3 – | Mikiya "KayKay" Clark - Medical Assistant |
| Non-Emergency Patient Care Questions | |
| Option #4 – | Danelle Eiland – Billing |
| Questions about your Bill | |
| Option #5 – | Megan Ho - Insurance |
| Current Patients: Questions about your Insurance | |
| Option #6 – | Lisa Stansbury – Dietitian |
| Current Patients: Dietitian and Medical Weight Questions | |
| Option #7 – | Stacy Gregory, LPN & Vanquish ME, Cellutone Specialist |
| Current Patients: Pre-Op Coordinator & Body Sculpt Shreveport | |
| Option #8 – | Katy Merriman - Practice Adminstrator |
For emails and additional contact information, please visit our "Meet the Team" section of our website.
Educational Videos
Surgery Videos:*
For videos about the three bariatric surgery options click here.
Patient Testimonials:*
To see testimonials from patients of Dr. Merriman who have had the various weight loss surgeries click here.