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Transformations to open locally

PARKERSBURG – A business specializing in medical weight loss and skin treatments is looking to locate to the Parkersburg area in the next few months.

The West Virginia Health Care Authority recently announced issuing a Certificate of Need to Transformations Inc. of Charleston for the development of a new facility in Parkersburg for the provision of physician supervised weight loss, medical skin care procedures and retail skin care and make-up products.

According to the West Virginia Health Care Authority, the capital expenditure associated with this proposal is $25,000.

Joshua Galbraith, owner and CEO of Transformations Inc., said they were excited to get the approval and will begin the process of looking for a site in the local area where they can set up their business. They could not move forward on that until they got the approval from the Authority.

“We are hoping to be open by this fall,” Galbraith said. “In a couple of weeks we are expecting to be looking at options in the Parkersburg area.”

Transformations staffs medical doctors to work with people on weight loss as well as a number of skin treatments.

“The people who come to see us are always meeting with a medical doctor,” Galbraith said.

Their approach to weight loss includes appetite regulation through appetite suppressant drug therapy while also helping people make changes to their lifestyle, such as exercise, to facilitate long-term healthy results.

Galbraith said they have a 97 percent success rate in weight loss at their other facilities in the state.

Their doctors have designed a number of dynamic and affordable skin care treatments and regimens. They offer such products as ZO Medical, Obagi, Vivite, Botox, Dysport, Juvederm, Restylane, Radiesse , Perlane, Prevelle and others. They also offer Fraxel Laser Treatments.

Many medical insurances do not cover services they offer, but Galbraith said some are pushing for some weight loss procedures to be covered by insurance so in time, things could change.

Consultations on weight loss are done at no charge.

“We want to encourage people to come in to get weighed and so on without worrying they are going to be charged a fee every time they come in,” Galbraith said.

The only time a fee is charged is when they purchase medications or have some specific procedure done.

In skin care procedures, a fee is charged for visits, but those are usually deducted from the costs of products purchased for the procedure.

Galbraith said they try to make the costs as reasonable as possible.

Transformations Inc. already has facilities in Charleston, Huntington and Beckley.

They are hoping to have a Parkersburg location secured in about a month and then work another month to prepare the site. Their medical staff is already in place as doctors from their other facilities will operate the Parkersburg office. Galbraith said there should be three positions in the office.

Like their other locations, Galbraith believes they could set up in a medical office plaza or a strip mall setting.

“We want to be settled in by the new year which is usually a big time for us,” he said. “March is traditionally our busiest month.”

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