About Us
President
Vinay Kamat, MD, FACP, Diplomate ABOM
Dr. Kamat pioneered BJC Concierge Care within BJC Medical Group. Renowned for his expertise, he consistently earns accolades on "The Best Doctors in America" list. Dr. Kamat specializes in personalized primary care, offering additional services such as medical weight-loss assistance. He serves as an Associate Program Director for Washington University/Missouri Baptist Hospital Program in Internal Medicine.
Dr. Kamat is a founder and president of the St. Louis Obesity Society and a distinguished member of the St. Louis Society of Internal Medicine. His peers recognized his outstanding contributions by naming him BJC Medical Group Physician of the Year in 2020. Actively engaged in healthcare policy, he contributes to the Missouri chapter of the ACP, serving on the Missouri Health and Public Policy Committee and the Governor's Council.
Beyond his clinical practice, Dr. Kamat dedicates his expertise as a staff physician at the Beverly Farms Foundation, specializing in patients with neurologic and cognitive challenges. He also serves as the house physician for the Four Seasons Hotel/Saint Louis, team physician for Saint Louis City SC, a Major League Soccer team, and the St. Louis Surge, a G-League WNBA team.
Dr. Kamat is a sought-after expert in healthcare, frequently featured in local and national media outlets including Newsweek magazine. His poetry and prose have been published in regional and national publications and has written an award-winning full-length screenplay. He is married to Sona Kamat, a rheumatolgist, and has three sons.
Vice President
Sara Mendelow Wootten, MSN, APRN, FNP-C
Sara Wootten is a family nurse practitioner providing obesity medicine at Mercy Clinic Weight andWellness. She has seven years of experience as a nurse practitioner, previously practicing family medicine before transitioning to obesity. She has been a nurse since 2011 and spent most of that timeas a trauma nurse at Barnes Jewish Hospital Emergency and Trauma Center in Saint Louis. She was oneof the program developers for Mercy’s first weight management program and the clinic’s first full-timeprovider. She was one of the first 50 providers to complete the pilot program for the Obesity Medicine Association’s Certification Program for Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants. She is a co-founder of The Saint Louis Obesity Society. She is married with a three-year-old daughter, Ella. Sara enjoys singing, event planning, interior design, and cooking with her family.
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Secretary
Maria Walls, ANP
Maria Walls is an Adult Nurse Practitioner in internal medicine at BJC Medical Group. She has 13 years experience as a nurse practitioner and twenty-seven years’ experience in health care. She has presented locally, regionally and nationally on topics such as quality improvement, diabetes, nutrition, weight management, mental health, COVID-19 and has published in several of these areas. In 2016 she developed an intensive behavioral therapy program for weight loss that showed statistically significant
improvements in weight with short- and long-term maintenance. This program has now been expanded across her entire organization. She is currently in the process of becoming board certified in obesity medicine. She was chosen as BJC’s advanced practice provider of the year in 2017 and is the current secretary of Saint Louis Obesity Society. She is married with two beautiful children- a four-year-old daughter and a eight year old son. She enjoys spending time with her family and making crafts.
Treasurer
Chelsea E. Pearson, MD, Dipl. ABOM
Dr. Pearson is an Internal Medicine and Obesity Medicine Physician. She currently serves as an Instructor of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine and sees patients at Washington University Complete Care. She has attended Washington University for her undergraduate degree in Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology and Biology . After medical school and residency at Washington University she certified in obesity medicine.
Founding Member and Advisor
Kara Mayes, MD, Diplomate ABOM
Kara Mayes, MD is a family physician and obesity medicine physician. She is the Medical Director at Mercy Clinic Weight and Wellness in Ballwin, MO. Dr. Mayes completed medical school at St.Louis University School of Medicine and residency at Mercy Hospital St. Louis. Outside of work she enjoys running, trying new restaurants with her husband, and attempting to keep up with her two kids.