SPONSORED REPORT
Recognizing the Need
When healthcare resources are focused
solely on the most prominent or wellpublicized public health concerns, it can
lead to a lack of adequate care for critically
important health issues that may not
always make headlines. ECHN, through its
already robust behavioral health services,
recognized both the significance of the
problem of eating disorders and the lack of
advanced care for the most compromised
patients.
While thousands of Connecticut residents
are impacted by eating disorders each
year, care options in the state have been
notably limited. ECHN, partnering with
Walden Behavioral Care, set out to change
that. Together, these two healthcare
providers understand that appropriate and
specialized care is imperative, especially for
more medically complex patients.
One-of-a-Kind
Caring
ECHN opens the region’s first and
only inpatient unit dedicated solely
to treating eating disorders.
On August 8, 2016, ECHN opened a $5
million dollar eating disorders inpatient
unit at Rockville Hospital. This program will
bring more comprehensive and intensive
eating disorder treatment for adults and
adolescents of all genders. The 30-bed unit
is the first of its kind in the state and a major
step forward in battling eating disorders far
beyond Connecticut’s borders.
Addressing a Crisis
Approximately 30 million people in the
United States suffer from eating disorders
including
anorexia
nervosa,
bulimia
nervosa, binge eating disorder and other
specified feeding or eating disorders. In
Connecticut alone, eating disorders affect
at least 120,000 residents.
In today’s social media and image-driven
society, young people are especially
susceptible to an eating disorder. According
to the National Eating Disorders Association
(NEDA), the rate of development of new
cases of eating disorders has been increasing
since 1950. NEDA also states that there has
been a rise in incidence of anorexia in young
women ages 15-19 in each decade since
1930.
Often, the eating disorder itself is just part
of the health risks the individual faces. Those
who suffer from eating disorders have a
higher risk of developing a number of other
A PARTNERSHIP WITH
WALDEN BEHAVIORAL
CARE, THE NEW
INPATIENT PROGRAM
AT ROCKVILLE HOSPITAL
IS A HOME AWAY FROM
HOME FOR PATIENTS
WITH SEVERE
EATING DISORDERS.
echn.org/eatingdisorders
As a comprehensive healthcare system focused on serving emerging community needs, Eastern
Connecticut Health Network (ECHN) has identified a significant health challenge that has been
largely under-addressed – and a significant population largely underserved. In response, it
has formed an exciting joint venture, dedicated a newly renovated inpatient unit and focused
significant resources on eating disorders. ECHN has created a program that is one-of-a-kind in
Connecticut and is advancing the care of this disease throughout New England and beyond.
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The Center has
already cared for
patients from as far
away as Missouri.
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directly related health issues including
high blood pressure, abnormal heart rates,
dehydration, hair loss, pancreatitis and
more. NEDA states that individuals with
eating disorders are also more likely to have
alcohol and substance abuse issues, suffer
from depression or other mood disorders
and develop obsessive-compulsive disorder.
According to The National Eating Disorders
Collaboration, “Eating disorders are serious
mental illnesses; they are not a lifestyle
choice or a diet gone ‘too far.’ Eating
disorders are associated with significant
physical complications and increased
mortality. In fact, the mortality rate for
people with eating disorders is the highest
of all psychiatric illnesses, and over 12
times higher than people without eating
disorders.” Five to ten percent of patients
with anorexia nervosa die within 10 years of
developing the disease and up to 20 percent
die within 20 years.
Eating disorders
have the highest
mortality rate of all
psychiatric illnesses.
SPONSORED REPORT
3.4%
OM
TS SUFFER FR
OF CT RESIDEN
ERS
EATING DISORD
AT LEAST
30 MILLION
NATIONALLY SUFFER FROM CLINICALLY
SIGNIFICANT EATING DISORDERS
EVERY
62
MINUTES
AT LEAST ONE PERSON
DIES AS A DIRECT RESULT
OF AN EATING DISORDER
EATING DISORDERS
HAVE THE
HIGHEST
MORTALITY
RATE
OF ANY MENTAL
ILLNESS
1/3
APPROXIMATELY
OF EATING DISORDER
DIAGNOSES ARE MEN
SOURCES: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ANOREXIA
NERVOSA AND ASSOCIATED DISORDERS, NATIONAL
EATING DISORDERS ASSOCIATION
EXPRESSIVE THERAPY is one of the unique techniques
Advancing Care
Treating the Whole Person
Based in Waltham, Massachusetts, Walden
Behavioral Care is one of the region’s
most respected and experienced providers
of behavioral health services, with a strong
focus on treating eating disorders.
Together, ECHN and Walden are able
to provide a treatment option “close to
home” with goals focused on medical
stabilization, recovery-based behaviors and
skills, nutritional education and successful
transitions to less intensive levels of care
when applicable.
Designed like a residence, the Center allows
patients to receive all of the care they need
in a comfortable, home-like setting designed
for safety and stability. In fact, one of the
most appreciated elements of the Center is
the ability to monitor patients around the
clock for their own safety, without feeling
like a restrictive, high-security facility.
PEOPLE
The Center provides
acute care in addition
to ongoing treatment.
It typically serves the
most critical cases
and patients requiring
immediate care, often in
life or death situations.
“The level of care is second to none,” says
psychiatrist Mariela Podolski, MD, one
of the Center’s medical directors. “We
provide medical stabilization for those
at an advanced stage of their disease.
By stabilizing our patients in a hospital
setting, we are able to provide all urgent
and ongoing medical services with 24-hour
care. And once they are medically stable we
continue to care for them by assessing and
treating the cause of their disorder. This will
help patients get the level of treatment that
they need in order to make the behavioral
changes necessary to enjoy the effects of
lasting recovery.”
Such comprehensive and intensive care
requires a dedicated, interdisciplinary team
of health professionals including physicians,
nurses, therapists, dieticians and mental
health counselors. All are specially trained
in eating disorders and other related
behavioral health disorders, providing
focused and consistent care.
While the staff’s first goal is to medically
stabilize patients by restoring weight,
heart rates and levels of essential minerals
such as potassium, treatment doesn’t end
there. A major factor in ECHN’s partnership
with Walden is the compatibility of each
organization’s philosophy towards treating
eating disorders. It’s not simply about
addressing symptoms as they arise, but
rather digging deeper and understanding
the root cause of the patient’s disorder.
The core belief of treating the whole
person involves caring for the body along
with the mind and the spirit, with therapy
and behavioral services tailored to meet a
patient’s specific needs. Treatment plans
typically include medical management,
behavioral therapy, psychotherapy, nutritional
counseling and medication.
Evidence-based
treatment
modalities
include Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
(DBT), Family-Based Treatment (FBT) and
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). The
Center is the only facility in the region to
provide this range of medical and behavioral
interventions in this kind of setting.
While treatment programs for adults and
adolescents are kept separate, all patients
receive 24-hour care. Each day is structured
and interactive with group programming,
psychoeducation, skills training and unique
programs like expressive therapy – a
technique that encourages self expression
through different artistic means, especially
beneficial for patients who have difficulty
communicating their feelings in other ways.
While intensive, treatment strives to not
become restrictive. Patients are afforded
personal time and encouraged to spend
2017 | Doing Business in Connecticut
SPONSORED REPORT
XX
employed at the Center. It encourages patients to express
themselves through painting, sculpture and other artistic
means. For many, it becomes a vital form of communication,
helping them “tell” caregivers how they’re feeling while helping
them get in touch with their own feelings. Expressive therapy
is employed with both adults and adolescents and has proven
instrumental in helping to identify contributing traumas or
co-occurring disorders such as obsessive compulsive disorder
and post traumatic stress disorder.
it freely. Reading, playing games and
spending time outdoors in the Center’s
garden are important soothing activities
that contribute to healing.
In addition, individualized care plans
can include accommodations for family
and friends who want to participate in
the healing process. The Center carefully
arranges personal visits, family meals,
remote communications via Skype and other
programs to include important personal
influencers.
Eating disorders affect the whole family.
Loved ones are not only critical in the
patient’s recovery, they often benefit from
therapy themselves. Family group therapy
is one of the most important elements
of treatment at the Center. It can help
minimize the triggers of unhealthy behavior
while reducing setbacks or reoccurring
issues related to the eating disorder.
Like many behavioral health challenges,
the plan with eating disorders is not always
a cure, but rather reliable and effective
management of the disease. The goal of
treatment at the Center is to prepare the
patient for a successful transition – moving
on to ongoing care at an outpatient or
residential program.
Healing Closer to Home
A major factor in treating an eating disorder
is comfort. People may be more reluctant to
get help if they have to travel great distances
from home or venture into unfamiliar
areas. Sadly, many people who drastically
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need care don’t get it simply because of a
perceived inconvenience.
The Center allows
patients to get the care
they need within close
proximity of their
support system. And
this can ultimately lead
to more people seeking
the help they need.
“If you have a loved one with this type of
disease, you know how difficult it is to find
someone who specializes in it,” says Dr.
Podolski. “From the beginning, we’ve strived
to not just make an advanced level of care
available, but also to make it accessible.”
20%
WITHOUT TREATMENT
HOW
TREATMENT
REDUCES
THE
MORTALITY
RATE
OF EATING
DISORDERS
Changing Lives
“Eating disorders are complex and they are
deadly. However, with scientific research
and insights from other fields we are able
to offer more effective and personalized
medical care than ever before.” said
psychiatrist James Greenblatt, MD, Chief
Medical Officer & Vice President, Medical
Services for Walden Behavioral Care.
“At Walden Eating Disorders Center at
Rockville Hospital, we offer this integrated
care. But most importantly, we offer hope.”
2-3%
WITH TREATMENT
SOURCE: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ANOREXIA
NERVOSA AND ASSOCIATED DISORDERS