Your Care Team
Mercy Hospitals of Bakersfield is home to a team of bariatrics expert who will work closely with you to help you meet your weight loss goals.
Team members include:
- Bariatrics coordinator
- Nutritionist with bariatrics training
- Affiliated surgeons
- Anesthesiologists and surgery team
- Specially trained nurses and support staff
Because bariatric surgery is a life-changing event - with many of the results coming within the first year after surgery - we continue to be involved in your care after you leave the hospital. Your post-surgery support group is an important part of your care.
Our Bariatrics Coordinator
One of the first people you'll meet in our program is our bariatrics coordinator, your personal “concierge” at The Bariatric Program. Our coordinator will provide the information and support you well before and long after your surgery.
To contact our Coordinator, please call 661.663.6765 or e-mail BariatricsBakersfield@chw.edu.
Our Affiliated Surgeons

These highly trained, experienced surgeons are all board certified in bariatric surgery.
HORMUZ IRANI, M.D.
Born in Bombay, India, Dr. Irani received his medical degree from the University of Sydney in Sydney, Australia. After completing his chief residency in general surgery at Kern Medical Center in Bakersfield, California, he continued his post-graduate work with a fellowship in surgical oncology at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center in Miami, Florida. He returned to Bakersfield where he is currently medical director of Bariatric Surgical Services for San Joaquin Community Hospital. Dr. Irani is a member of many associations including the American Society of Bariatric Surgeons, American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons and the Society of Surgical Oncology.
JOHN GARCIA, M.D.
Dr Garcia graduated from Loma Linda University School of Allied Health in 1993, with a BS in Medical Technology and received his MD degree from Loma Linda University School of Medicine in California in 1998. He completed a General Surgery Residency at Sound Shore Medical Center in New Rochelle, New York in 2003. He went on to complete a Surgical Fellowship specializing in Complex Laparoscopic Procedures, including Gastric Bypass, at Danbury Hospital in Connecticut in 2004. He has been in a surgical group specializing in Bariatric Surgery in Bakersfield, California Since August 2004. Dr Garcia’s special surgical interests are Minimally Invasive procedures. He has performed hundreds of Bariatric procedures. Dr Garcia is a Certified by the American Board of Surgery.
NIRAV NAIK, M.D.
Dr. Nirav Nirak joined Bakersfield Surgical Associates in 2001. He did his residency at the University Medical Center in Fresno, California and specialized in general surgery, Bariatric surgery, and vascular surgery. Using minimally invasive Laparoscopic techniques, he has excelled in these areas. He is a member of the American College of Surgeons as well as the American Society of Bariatric Surgery.