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40 Doing Business in Connecticut | 2017 SPONSORED REPORT 2017 | Doing Business in Connecticut XX Advancing Care 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. "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. Treating the Whole Person 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. 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 3.4% OF CT RESIDENTS SUFFER FROM EATING DISORDERS NATIONALLY SUFFER FROM CLINICALLY SIGNIFICANT EATING DISORDERS SOURCES: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ANOREXIA NERVOSA AND ASSOCIATED DISORDERS, NATIONAL EATING DISORDERS ASSOCIATION 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 AT LEAST PEOPLE 30 MILLION APPROXIMATELY 1/3 OF EATING DISORDER DIAGNOSES ARE MEN 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. SPONSORED REPORT