We understand that your decision and potential need for surgery can be stressful. We work together to try our best to alleviate sources of stress and uncertainty in your surgical care.
Meet Our Office Team
The members of our team work together in our office to provide patients a comfortable and professional environment throughout the entire surgical process. Our professionalism extends to our ability to coordinate with your referring physicians and other medical specialists. Our office team and our convenient location serve as important resources for your surgical pre-operative and postoperative care. We share a dedication that allows us to ease your concerns and answer your questions as much as possible.
Sandra Uzhca, MA
Sandra Uzhca, MA is our Clinical Medical Assistant. She acts as your initial point of contact during the surgical pre-operative and post-operative office experience. Sandra is instrumental in guiding our patients through the office visit. Her role includes obtaining your vital signs and forming an initial summary regarding your surgical issues. She helps to gather necessary documentation and ensure that your electronic medical record corresponds with paperwork from your outside providers.
Sandra helps our patients with pre-surgical guidelines and organizes both physician referrals and paperwork necessary for your surgical care. Her seventeen years of healthcare experience allows her to effectively manage day-to-day operations and keep your visit running smoothly. She ensures a smooth and effortless process in coordinating your needs with behind the scenes tasks. Sandra's extensive experience working with bariatric patients throughout every stage of the process from initial consultations to post-surgical visits helps her understand the many issues involved.
Wendy Fernandez, MA
Our Administrative Medical Assistant, Wendy Fernandez, MA, acts as your point of administrative contact during the surgical pre-operative and post-operative experience. She will meet with you and explain the steps involved in the surgical process as well as those needed for insurance approval. Steps are typically outlined in a to-do list; we suggest that you use this to organize your appointments and to prioritize what needs to be done within certain time frames.
Wendy has been working in healthcare for thirteen years. She prides herself in being able to proactively identify and resolve problems. By the time you leave the practice on your visit, we want you to feel comfortable with your next steps.
Sophie Gertz, RDN
Sophie Gertz, RDN is our team’s nutritionist and is here to help guide patients toward their goals from a dietary and nutrition standpoint. From the pre-surgery assessment, through the post operation process, Sophie will help you identify strategies and lifestyle adjustments for your best result before and after bariatric surgery.
Sophie has well-rounded experience as a nutritionist. She has worked as an inpatient dietitian, providing medical nutrition therapy to a wide variety of patients with complex medical needs. She witnessed firsthand and understands how impactful dietary changes can help with medical problems. She knows the importance of a balanced diet in maintaining optimal health.
With an individualized approach to nutrition counseling and weight management, Sophie is dedicated to understanding the patient as a whole and is able to guide them to their desired goals for sustainable and effective behavior change. Sophie is passionate about empowering patients to reach their maximum potential through forming diet and lifestyle habits that fit into their busy lifestyles.
Sophie’s whole food approach to nutrition will have you eating and feeling better while achieving your weight loss goals. Specifically tailored to your tastes and lifestyle, her individualized approach to weight management will teach you to build on your strengths and transcend your weaknesses. Instead of a diet she will guide you through making a lifetime commitment towards better eating.
When not seeing patients, Sophie enjoys exploring NYC by trying new restaurants and attending Broadway shows and concerts. Sophie also loves to cook and bake and is always trying new recipes.
Jennifer Matte, MSHS, PA
Jennifer Matte completed her undergraduate degree in Neurobiology, Physiology & Behavior with a minor in Human Development at the University of California, Davis. After graduation, Jennifer worked with patients at the Children’s Hospital and Research Center, Oakland and at a private primary care and cosmetic dermatology office in Berkeley, California.
Jennifer’s work after her undergraduate studies helped prepare her for her career in medicine. She returned to the East Coast, where she grew up, to earn her Physician Assistant degree at Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences where she specialized in surgery.
