October 6, 2022
The Adult Eating Disorders Service (AEDS) at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) marks 10 years of providing community-based programming, helping more than 1,400 patients receive care through its outpatient, day treatment and residential services.
Developed in 2012 to meet the needs of adults requiring treatment for anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder and other specified feeding or eating disorders, the centre provides a holistic approach to supporting adults impacted by this disease. The first and only of its kind in Ontario, AEDS offers a 20-week residential program and receives more than 300 referrals per year. This residential program provides 24-hour care to support patients with their therapeutic goals and helps educates families and friends about eating disorders and how they can best support them.
“We know eating disorders have a significant impact on individuals, families and communities, and recovery involves physical, psychological and emotional changes that require highly specialized treatment,” said Elizabeth Phoenix Nurse Practitioner with AEDS who has been with the program since its inception. “Individuals need to know that there is help available to them close to home, and close to their support network of family and friends. For more than 10 years, AEDS has helped hundreds of patients recover and thrive. Navigating the demands of the pandemic, the program has evolved to offer virtual treatment that has increased accessibility to treatment for individuals across Ontario.”
In partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association, Thames Valley Addiction and Mental Health Services, AEDS has provided support to the counties of Huron, Perth, Oxford and Sarnia-Lambton as well as London. Recognizing eating disorders impact approximately 1 million Canadians, the program continues to look for innovative ways to expand its service model. For example, a 10-week residential condensed treatment program is being evaluated that will ultimately help reduce waitlists and length of treatment by half.
“In January 2019, at the age of 62, I entered the day program suffering from an eating disorder I have had since I was 12,” said Jocelyn Rasmussen, a former patient. “My ability to eat sensibly while taking medication to battle another condition compounded the problem. When I entered the program and learned the science behind the cycles of binging and purging, I finally understood how harmful these eating habits were. To this day, I continue using the program tools and materials that restored me to a healthier life. I am so grateful to this program for helping to turn my life around.”
