Eating Recovery Center Answers Need For More Eating Disorder Treatment In Texas With New 72-Bed Behavioral Health Hospital In Plano

January 29, 2020

New treatment center expands specialized, 24-hour eating disorder care to fill the dire gap in services for children, adolescents and adults requiring comprehensive treatment.

PLANO, TX (January 29, 2020) — In response to the growing need for comprehensive, specialized eating disorder treatment services in Texas, Eating Recovery Center (ERC) announces the opening of a new, 72-bed behavioral health hospital, now accepting patients. ERC is the only national, vertically integrated health care system dedicated to the treatment of eating disorders at their more serious stages. The fully renovated, 100,000-square-foot treatment center in the Legacy area will offer Inpatient, Residential, Partial Hospitalization and Intensive Outpatient levels of care for children, adolescents and adults. ERC’s expansion is a deliberate response to the steady rise in demand for specialized eating disorder care in the state.

ERC treats patients of all gender identities suffering from eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) and co-occurring conditions. Despite having a state population of more than 28 million, Texas lacks sufficient treatment options for Texans requiring hospitalization or intensive outpatient services for serious eating disorders. In fact, the current ERC center on the Plano Baylor Scott & White Medical Center campus is the only Inpatient treatment center for adults in Texas. Thus, until now many adult patients have often needed to travel out of state for 24-hour care, which often proved difficult for insurance authorization or sometimes prevented access to treatment altogether.

“For two years, new patients have often needed to wait for an available treatment bed,” said Stephanie Setliff, MD, Regional Medical Director of ERC. “Texans desperately need treatment options here at home, not just for convenience and comfort, but also so they can fully utilize their insurance benefits. This new treatment center more than doubles our capacity to treat those patients in need, so we’re hoping this relieves a real burden for patients and families who are suffering and don’t know where to turn.”

ERC is also expanding capacity for child and adolescent treatment to address the increasing need for Texas’s most vulnerable patients. Now is a critical time in our country’s intensifying mental health crisis: young people ages 15-24 with anorexia have 10 times the risk of death compared to their peers. Although eating disorders have the highest mortality rate for mental health conditions after opioid overdoses, patients who receive treatment early in the course of their illness have a high likelihood of recovery. This underlines the importance of expanding treatment options and improving access to care for these children. In Texas especially, there has historically been a gap in specialized eating disorder treatment options for severely ill children and teens. ERC fills the gap with developmentally appropriate treatment that includes:

An expert care team that coordinates therapeutic, psychiatric, medical and dietary needs of each patient
Evidence-based psychotherapy treatment, with emphasis on practicing newly developed skills
An Intensive Treatment Unit for patients with complex medical and/or behavioral needs
Expanded ARFID treatment capability, including separate dining areas for patients with sensory concerns
Unmatched family programming with expanded spaces dedicated to family therapy and skill-building, plus a prep kitchen and separate dining area to support family meals
Round-the-clock nursing supervision and support
An education specialist who oversees patients' academic needs, so they don’t fall behind in school

The new treatment center in Plano fosters continuity of care with an Intensive Treatment Unit plus Inpatient, Residential, Partial Hospitalization and Intensive Outpatient levels of care all available on campus. Additionally, ERC offers Partial Hospitalization and Intensive Outpatient levels of care in Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Austin, Houston and The Woodlands. Patients across Texas can step up or step down through the levels of care as needed, ensuring consistency in treatment and continuous support throughout their recovery journey. A Virtual Intensive Outpatient program – treatment via video sessions – is available to residents who are unable to commute to treatment centers regularly.

“We spend hours every week on family involvement and education,” said Tyler Wooten, MD, Medical Director at ERC. “Dr. Setliff and I have been working together for more than 20 years. Our shared experience and expertise serves as the foundation of our family programming, empowering caregivers to support their loved one during treatment and throughout recovery. I spend a lot of time educating fathers in particular. Studies show that a father’s involvement improves the chances of a successful recovery. So we’re committed to working closely with parents, spouses and loved ones. This is the best way to build a strong network of support for our patients to lean on through all stages of their recovery.”

The new treatment center is located at 5120 Legacy Drive in Plano. In May 2020, ERC and Insight Behavioral Health Centers (Insight), an Eating Recovery Center company, will open a mood, anxiety and trauma-related treatment program for adults and a binge eating disorder treatment program at the current location on the Plano Baylor Scott & White Medical Center campus. Also in 2020, Insight will add mood, anxiety and trauma-related treatment for children and adolescents at the Legacy campus.

About Eating Recovery Center and Insight Behavioral Health Centers
Eating Recovery Center (ERC) is the only national, vertically integrated health care system dedicated to the treatment of eating disorders and related conditions at their more serious stages. ERC offers best-in-class treatment programs for all patients, no matter their age or gender, struggling from: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, eating and weight disorder, unspecified eating disorders, as well as co-occurring and dual diagnoses. Insight Behavioral Health Centers (Insight) offers specialized treatment for mood, anxiety and trauma-related disorders. Led by the world’s leading experts, ERC and Insight provide a full spectrum of behavioral health recovery services through an unmatched network of multiple locations across eight states. Both ERC and Insight treat adults, children and teens and offer multiple levels of care, including Inpatient, Residential, Partial Hospitalization, and Intensive Outpatient programs.