Robert Cooney Bariatric Surgeon M.D.

My first visit was with Janelle McCleod the program coordinator. I can't say enough good things about that visit. I had gone their just to gather information and with every intention of changing my mind. By the time I left I knew that the surgery was what I had really been looking for all along. She warned me that Dr. Cooney looked young but assured me he was very competent at what he does. WLS is not the only surgery he performs. She was right. He was very kind and explained everything from what could go wrong to what to expect. Their screening process is very intensive. Very strict about compliance with their diet, aftercare, and offer support group.

The only complaint is that because they are so busy and intensive, scheduling each step has actually taken 3 months then the final doctor visit to schedule survery date. Surgery date is now 6 weeks away.

Met Dr. Cooney on May 24th after LAP RNY with Dr. Haluck ruled out since both are in the same program at Hershey Medical Center it was no problem to get scheduled to meet with him on May 24th.
My first impression of Dr. Cooney was he looked younger than his picture. He had a friendly and very professional appearance. During the consultation, he turned out to be very pleasant and thorough discussing the OPEN RNY procedure. He answered my questions and added more to my initial information pertaining to my question.
He described the entire program and had asked me if I had any questions after viewing a video about their program. He asked me what Insurance Carrier I had and then he shared with me the requirements to be approved for surgery. He emphasized that I check out the support group and attend one before surgery. He kept stressing the aftercare after having surgery. I felt that his staff or team members such as the dietician was well organized. Unfortunately, since he specializes in other surgery I had to wait 45 minutes to see him.
After that the time flew by.
At this time, I believe Dr. Cooney impressed me with his professional attitude.

My first impression of Dr Cooney was that he looked very happy. He has always been very nice and the more I talk to him I realize how much he really enjoys talking to and informing his patients of all aspects of the surgery.He spend alot of time the first visit I had with him explaining everything about the surgery the pros and cons and what risks could happen from the surgery. I even asked him if anyone has died from the surgerys that he has performed. I was surprised when he actually answered me and said yes one person did die but that was 2 weeks postop from a heart attack but because it was within the 6 weeks postop Dr Cooney had to put it on as being a death counted against his numbers. He said the patient had even had a cardiology workup prior to surgery and nothing had shown up. I was very shocked with his honesty. the hospital does a very good follow up they have a dietician who is also the Gastric bypass Coordinator and she is available to answer questions along with the Dr. I would give my whole experience so far a 10 on a scale of 1-10. I would rather have a surgeon with surgical competence that great bedside manner but with Dr Cooney it looks like I will get both.

4/5/01 I saw Dr. Cooney today for the first time. I found out through him that I am borderline diabetic. That is a lab result that my pcp over-looked. It was very upsetting. I am even more determined to have this surgery.
Dr. Cooney was very informative, he was compassionate and he answered all of our questions before we could even ask them.
My husband went with me and he was also impressed with Dr. Cooney.
He is a very busy doctor and I think he tried to hide that a little bit for my sake. He was paged a few times and someone stuck their head in the door to see if he was there. He was very late for the appt. but I didn't mind, I know how it is, he is a busy surgeon. He was polite about it and apologized to us.
I am encouraged by what he had to say regarding my chances of getting approved for surgery. He said from a medical stand-point I am definately a candidate for surgery.
I would rate him to be competent in explaining and preparing patients for the upcoming requirements for open RNY.

I had my first meeting with Dr. Cooney on 2/21/01 .I feel very comfortable speaking with him he genuinely seems to care! He answered all of my questions with great detail. He says that yes this is a tool for you to use with healthy eating and exercising!As for the office staff the nurse was very nice and i had no problems with any of the office staff! It is a very large office!He emphasizes a lot on the process of the surgery! Not to rush into it! He has done over 400 of these operations over the last 12 years! I feel very confident knowing he will be performing my surgery. The program here at the Hershey Medical enter is very coordinated and thorough! They want you to make sure you are ready for the changes you will be having!!A very structured procedure, sometimes frustrating!I look forward to undergoing this procedure with Dr. Cooney! Sherry Good

Great doctor with a great attitude. everything was great and he keeps tabs on you and makes you feel great. Overall staff was excellent.

My surgeon Is Dr. Robert Clooney, Hershey Medical Center, Harrisburg Pa. I had a very good first impression. He went into full detail of what to expect, explanation of the surgery,proximal. The staff were all very helpful. He was people oriented. It seems like his first concern was me. He went through the before,during and afterward care. He has been doing these surgeries for over 7 years and seems to be very competant in his field. He did not supply me with all of the info I needed for blood tests and pre-op testing. I had to make a few calls to follow up.