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2017 | Doing Business in Connecticut 39 XX Doing Business in Connecticut | 2017 SPONSORED REPORT 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. 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 Recognizing the Need When healthcare resources are focused solely on the most prominent or well- publicized 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. 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. 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. The Center has already cared for patients from as far away as Missouri. Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of all psychiatric illnesses. SPONSORED REPORT