MARNE, Mich. — Sanford Behavioral Health is preparing to open Michigan's first residential eating disorder center in West Michigan.
The center, located in Marne, will be opening this spring.
Jenny Selent, the chief clinical officer, called the opening "monumental." She said often, patients would be referred to in-patient treatment options in other states, many with long waiting lists.
"There's been a real significant shortage of providers and treatment programs in general in Michigan," said Selent. "We are struggling against a lot of stigma and misinformation and miseducation in the State of Michigan, because we’ve had a lack of professionals in the state with expertise in this area."
The center will include a robust medical team, nutrition therapy team, recreation therapists and more.
"We're not just opening the first residential eating disorder program, we're trying to set the standard for treatment in the state," said Selent, "and we want the bar set really high. Because we're hoping, honestly, that we're paving the way in the State of Michigan."
Gail Hall, the executive director of eating disorder services with Sanford Behavioral Health, called the center "a professional dream come true."
"Talk therapy is essential," said Hall, "but you can talk about making a change for a long time and still not do it."
It's Eating Disorder Awareness Week, which Hall said is important to help break the stigma attached to seeking mental health treatment, including for eating disorders. In her 30 years working in the field, she said the understanding of who is affected by eating disorders has greatly changed.
"There plenty of men, transgendered individuals, young people, old people, all of whom struggle," said Hall. "And you cannot know just by looking at someone whether they have an eating disorder, because it's not just about weight. It's about the mental health, and the behaviors that are going on in secret."
Eating disorders can be dangerous if left untreated. According to Sanford Behavioral Health, eating disorders have the second highest mortality rate of psychological diagnosis after opioid addiction.
"There's so much denial, there's so much disbelief that the individual is really sick enough to need a higher level of care," said Hall.
Many times, eating disorders begin with dieting, often at a young age. Selent said 46% of 10-year-olds say they diet sometimes or very often.
The pandemic has also heightened the need for eating disorder treatment and awareness. Many people prone to eating disorders, or other mental health disorders, were triggered by the isolation and lack of control the past couple years.
"Treatment needs to be very comprehensive and wholistic," said Selent. "There’s a very much a mental health aspect to it that needs treatment. And then there is also the biological aspect of it. There's the genetic aspect of it. There's so many different things that we really want individuals when they come here to feel like they are being treated as a whole person."
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