About Us
Our Mission
To empower people at all stages of life and health to optimize wellness and achieve life balance through an integrative approach using high quality, evidence based programs, delivered by an experienced, caring, and supportive staff.
Who We Are
The Positive Choice Integrative Wellness Center at Kaiser Permanente San Diego strives to not merely treat symptoms or illness, but to evaluate your lifestyle and partner with you to create a plan for balance and overall wellness. We honor traditional Western medicine options and incorporate proven alternative medicine therapies to enhance recovery from illness and maximize your total wellness.
Every person wants to feel their best every day and we offer a variety of services to help you make that happen. From weight management, to nutrition and fitness, stress management, and biofeedback or cooking videos, there is something for everyone in your family. As a fee-for-service clinic, we are able to serve Kaiser Permanente members as well as non-members.
Our experienced medical team consists of doctors, medical practitioners, mental health providers, dietitians, exercise physiologists, and health educators. Our collective goal is to help you channel your energies into living the life you want and achieving your optimum health. We look forward to helping that transformation happen for you.
Our History
The Positive Choice Integrative Wellness Center began in the early 1980s as a small medical weight loss program using meal replacements, founded by Dr. Frank Caulfield at Kaiser Permanente La Mesa. Originally called Healthwise, the program was later led by Dr. Vincent Felitti and moved to a dedicated space in Clairemont Mesa, where it was renamed the Positive Choice Wellness Center.
As awareness of the obesity epidemic grew, the program rapidly expanded, becoming the largest medical weight management program within a major U.S. healthcare organization. Dr. Felitti’s groundbreaking research on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and their link to obesity led to the world-renowned ACE Study, still widely cited today.
In 2000, Dr. Albert Ray took over as medical director, expanding the program to include lifestyle medicine services such as nutrition education, exercise, and biofeedback. He also developed the Bariatric Surgery preparation program, OPTIONS. In 2014, Dr. Michael Moreno became medical director, and the program continued to grow.
That same year, Integrative Medicine appointments were added, and the department was renamed the Positive Choice Integrative Wellness Center. In 2019, the center moved to a custom-designed facility on the 6th floor of the Garfield Specialty Center.
Today, Positive Choice is the hub for weight management and lifestyle medicine at Kaiser Permanente San Diego. Our services include medical weight loss with meal replacements, the Healthy Balance program, bariatric surgery preparation, and anti-obesity medications—led by board-certified Obesity Medicine physicians Dr. Jay Mongiardo and Dr. John Skaf.
What We Offer
We offer a variety of programs and include many services in Spanish. Our services include:
- Weight management programs
- Medically supervised weight loss
- Nutrition consultations
- Physical testing
- Personal training
- Exercise classes
- Booster seminars
- Biofeedback
- Mindfulness programs
- Mindfulness coaching
- Plant-based cooking classes
- Integrative medicine physician appointments
- Family and teen services
- Other services
Most of our services are open and available to the entire San Diego community and you do not need to be a member of Kaiser Permanente to participate. View individual sections for more information and associated fees.
