Our Team: Professional Care
With more than 40 years of combined experience, our care providers come from backgrounds in weight loss, psychiatry, addiction medicine, cardiology, and pediatrics. Each plays a vital role in your care. You'll get to know them as you work together toward your success.
Dr. James Yates, MD
Dr. Yates studied Chemistry at Harvard and went on to complete his medical doctorate at the University of Bologna in Italy. He began his career in weight loss thirty years ago. He has been the medical director at various weight loss centers throughout Ridgecrest, Bakersfield, Fresno, and Visalia. His knowledge and experience in the field of weight loss are invaluable and unmatched.
Netti Shute, RN, BSN, FNP-C
After graduating from Fresno City College's nursing program, Netti began her nursing career in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Valley Children's Hospital. Later, working in a family practice clinic, she oversaw physical therapy and assisted doctors in the fields of obstetrics and gynecology, family practice, pediatrics, and gerontology. Netti went on to receive her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Fresno State before entering the Nurse Practitioner and Physician's Assistant school at UC Davis. Upon graduation, she worked as a certified nurse practitioner before joining Valley Weight Control Center in 1996. Since then, she has dedicated her life to helping her patients lose weight.
Julie Shute, RN, BSN, FNP, MSN, PA-C
Julie graduated from Point Loma Nazarene University with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She went on to work at the Cardiac Care Center at Scripps Memorial Hospital, La Jolla–one of the top twenty-five cardiac hospitals in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report. She received her Nurse Practitioner and Physician's Assistant licenses from UC Davis and her Master of Science in Nursing from California State University, Sacramento. After working for a number of health organizations, in 2006 Julie began working at Valley Weight Control Center. With her background in cardiology, she is an especially strong asset.