Inpatient Short-term Stabilization

Center for Change’s Stabilization program is designed to meet the needs of families who need inpatient rehabilitation services but may have limited financial resources and/or limited insurance benefit coverage. Patients who might benefit from this program include those who are actively engaged in treatment with a solid and consistent outpatient treatment team but who may be going through a particularly difficult time and require stabilization; patients who are in a partial hospitalization program or intensive outpatient program who are deteriorating and need some short-term stabilization, treatment triage and aftercare recommendations; patients who need inpatient care services but whose insurance or personal financial resources will not allow longer term care; and patients who would otherwise be treated for their eating disorder on a general psychiatric unit or hospital medical floor that does not provide the structure, behavioral intervention and specialization of an eating disorder program. The anticipated length of stay in this short-term program will likely be between seven and 21 days, depending on individual circumstances and need.

Who Is a Candidate:

  • Adult and adolescent female patients ages 13+
  • Primary diagnosis of eating disorder
  • Other significant co-existing mental and emotional illness
  • Moderate suicide risk
  • Secondary and co-occurring drug or alcohol dependence
  • Need for inpatient medical, emotional, mental or behavioral stabilization
  • Seriously compromised medical or mental condition secondary to eating disorder

Exclusionary criteria include a primary diagnosis of psychosis with florid psychotic symptoms, severe suicide risk with suicidal intention, history of sexual aggression or sexual predatory behavior, history of and deemed high risk for aggressive or violent behavior toward others, and physical or medical condition which demand admission into a medical/surgical or ICU unit.

Services Provided:

  • Initial psychiatric examination, including mental status exam
  • Initial history and physical exam
  • Initial psycho-social assessment
  • Labs, EKG and other tests
  • Stabilization of medical condition
  • Stabilization of mental/emotional condition
  • Medical, psychological and dietary treatment of eating disorder
  • Brain and body re-nourishment with liquid, electrolyte and initial weight restoration
  • Initial re-feeding intervention including N/G tube feeding where necessary
  • Structures to remedy self-defeating behavior patterns
  • Development of formal treatment plan, including outside treatment team coordination
  • Discharge planning, disposition, and aftercare initial coordination
  • Coordination of discharge into appropriate level of care or aftercare

Admission Process:

The admission process begins with a call to the admission team at 888-224-8250. A clinical assessment, as well as an insurance and financial review, will ensure that patients are admitted as clinically and medically appropriate and as insurance benefits and financial resources will allow.