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Office & Staff

Office and Staff

	Charles D. Callery, M.D., F.A.C.S. Dr. Callery is a General Surgeon, certified by the American Board of Surgery, and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He specializes in surgery for obesity. He has been performing gastric bypass and lap band for patients with severe obesity since 1991. Dr. Callery is a member of the American Society for Metabolic Surgery (ASMBS) and the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES).

	Sam Filiciotto, M.D. Dr. Filiciotto is a General Surgeon who assists Drs. Callery in surgery. He trained at the University of Iowa and New York Medical College. He performs hernia repair, laparoscopic gall bladder removal, and other abdominal and breast surgical procedures. Dr. Filiciotto is fluent in Spanish. His phone number is 858-487-8741.

	Kelly Neil, RN, FNP, DNP Kelly is the Bariatric Coordinator for our practice and for Pomerado Hospital. Kelly received her RN from Palomar College in 1988. She received a masters degree from California State University in 2001. Kelly received her Doctorate of Nursing Practice from Case Western Reserve in 2008. Kelly is board certified in Family Practice Nursing. She assists Dr. Callery with pre and post operative care in the office and hospital. She is a member of the Allied Health section of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery and is a Certified Bariatric Nurse. Kelly speaks basic Spanish.

	Lisa Haas, RMA Lisa is our office manager. She attended Fullerton College and then received her Medical Assistant certificate from Concorde Career Institute, Garden Grove in 2000. She joined Dr. Callery's practice in March 2003 with 2 years of experience in internal medicine and cardiology. She manages operations, patient financial matters, and coordinates relations with health plans.

	Grisel Arciniega Grisel is our receptionist and medical assistant.. She is a graduate of Point Loma High. She has done course work at San Diego City College and United Education Institute.She has worked with the practice for two years and is knowledgeable about both obesity surgery and general surgery matters. Grisel is fluent in Spanish.

	Rain Hampton Rain is the Support Group Coordinator. She leads the Pre-Op support group for all patients, the Gastric Bypass Early Post Op Support Group, and the Gastric Bypass Late Post Op Support Group. Her experience mentoring weight loss surgery patients began shortly after she had gastric bypass performed by Dr. Callery in 2004. After her surgery she began the North County Coastal Support Group, which she conrtinues to lead. Her transformation has inspired her to grow in the areas of fitness, life coaching, nutrition, and maintenence. She is currently developing a program which focuses on the challenges and solutions for keeping the pounds off after extraordinary weight loss. Email Rain at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

	Karen Merdinger, R.D. Karen is the Registered Dietitian for our practice and also works for Pomerado Hospital. She received her BS in Foods and Nutrition from San Diego State University, as well as her BS in Business Administration from the University of Montana. Karen completed her dietetic internship through the master’s program at the University of Nevada. She is a member of the American Dietetic Association. Karen is a regular contributor to thinnertimesforum.com.

	Elizabeth A. Bryant, Ph.D. Dr. Elizabeth Bryant is a clinical Psychologist in private practice with psychiatric and Behavioral Health Group in Poway. She received her A. A. in Nursing from Palomar College, her B. A. in Psychology from San Diego State University, and her Ph.D. from the California School of Professional Psychology. As and R. N. she worked in the ICU with trauma patients and their families. Dr. Bryant completed her internship and research fellowship at U.S.A. Medical Center in Clinical Psychology working in Organizational/Staff Development and Cardiac Rehabilitation. Her emphasis was in health psychology and behavioral management where she completed a major research project concerning the role of the chronic stress response on recovery from serious illness. She designed and conducted hospital-based programs in stress management, weight management, cardiac rehabilitation, and behavior therapy. Dr. Bryant has also developed and co-directed the stress management program at Scripps Clinic and designed and conducted health management groups and cardiac rehabilitation for staff and patients at the Palomar Pomerado health System and Scripps Chula Vista. She is currently an instructor at the U.C.S.D. Extension and is a guest speaker in the area of stress management and psychological aspects of illness. Her clinical orientation is based on social learning theory and existential psychotherapy. Her treatment approach emphasizes individual assessment and management of coping skills, focus and acceptance of personal choices, identification of personality factors, and evaluation and treatment of situational and interpersonal stressors. Dr. Elizabeth Bryant can be reached at 858-592-6644. Her address is 15552 Pomerado Road, Suite E-3, Poway, CA 92064.


	John Callery John is the son of Dr. Charles Callery, and serves as a part-time information specialist for ThinnerTimes. He graduated from University of San Diego May 2008, studying business administration, marketing and finance. John is currently on the information technology staff at USD working to integrate the USD web environment with web 2 functions such as social networking. John developed and maintains the ThinnerTimes web sites, secure patient communication tools, and is the administrator for the ThinnerTimes Forum. He is also responsible for the production and management of all ThinnerTimes internet ventures and branding.