Beverly Sullivan, left, a patient and intern at the Metabolic and Bariatric Institute at Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital, is using her experience to help patients.
Beverly Sullivan woke up one morning and made a life-changing decision: she’d had enough.
Years of struggling with her weight and the resulting high blood pressure and pre-diabetes had brought her to a breaking point. As a single mother of two, Sullivan knew something had to change, not just for herself but for her children.
“I was tired of being overweight,” the Santa Rosa resident recalls the emotional and physical toll of her health struggles. “It was nothing I wanted my children to be around and see.”
Santa Rosa resident Beverly Sullivan’s weight loss journey has been transformative.
At her heaviest weight of 420 pounds, Sullivan was determined to take control. She turned to YouTube and spent countless hours educating herself about meal prepping, workouts and fitness routines. She visited the gym five to six days a week and lost 150 pounds on her own through sheer discipline and new habits. But despite her efforts, the weight began to creep back. That’s when she turned to her primary physician who referred her to the Metabolic and Bariatric Institute at Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital.
From her first visit with Dr. Robert Woodbury, chair of Surgery at Sutter Santa Rosa and founder and medical director of the Bariatric Institute, Sullivan felt confident she was in the right place, surrounded by the right people.
“I understood that losing weight was not a matter of willpower and that I needed help and better tools,” she says. “Dr. Woodbury assured me that I had a disease and it wasn’t my fault. It was nice to feel like I had been truly seen.”
As part of her treatment for severe obesity, a chronic disease influenced by genetics, hormones, metabolism and other factors, Sullivan participated in a comprehensive program that included nutrition counseling, dietary support, education and a vertical sleeve gastrectomy. This minimally invasive surgical procedure reduces the size of the stomach and causes important changes in the body’s metabolic hormones, including an increase in GLP-1 and GIP, which help to regulate appetite and blood sugar.
The procedure, Sullivan says, provided a “metabolic reset” that helped her reach a goal weight of 160 pounds. With the guidance and help of her team at the Bariatric Institute, she has been able to maintain her target weight.
The transformative care Sullivan received at Sutter Health has changed her life in remarkable ways. While enrolled in an allied health program at a local college during her treatment at the Bariatric Institute, she discovered a passion for nutrition and ultimately changed her major. Today, she’s on track to become a registered dietetic nutritionist specializing in bariatric care.
Sullivan, center, is now an intern at the Metabolic and Bariatric Institute at Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital.
Recognizing Sullivan’s potential, the team at the Bariatric Institute is supporting her new career path. She now serves as an intern helping patients navigate their own weight-loss journeys, just as she continues to do.
“It feels so good that I can help people and relate to them. We have this instant connection,” Beverly says. “It’s great to have an awareness of where patients are and the frustration they feel. I’ve felt it all, and that allows me help them even more.”
Her ability to connect with patients on a deeply personal level hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“What’s truly inspiring about Beverly is her unwavering focus, not just on her own health goals but helping others achieve theirs,” says Dr. Woodbury. “Her compassion and commitment to our patients embody the core values we strive for at Sutter Health.”
Danielle Daye is Sullivan’s Bariatric nurse practitioner and also the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery coordinator of the Bariatric Institute. She provides Sullivan’s long-term medical care for obesity, and has witnessed her patient’s determination firsthand, from pursuing her education and staying committed to her health to finding meaningful ways to support others.
“What’s unique about Beverly is that when she needed help, she came for it.” Daye says. “What society doesn’t see with this disease is that it is long term. Beverly proves it’s not just about diet and exercise but that you must treat this chronic disease. She’s seen the other side. She’s a walking, living example of coming full circle.”
For more information on bariatric surgery at Sutter Health, please visit www.sutterhealth.org/services/bariatric-surgery.
