Veritas Collaborative Celebrates Access to Eating Disorder Care Awareness Day with Hospital Grand Opening
Georgia’s First Eating Disorder Hospital Opens Doors to Community.
Veritas Collaborative, a specialty healthcare system for the treatment of eating disorders, today celebrates Gov. Nathan Deal’s Access to Eating Disorder Care Awareness Day at the grand opening of Georgia’s first eating disorder hospital. The hospital, which admitted its first patient June 4, celebrated with a ribbon cutting ceremony followed by hospital tours and a grand opening celebration. Attendees included community dignitaries, DeKalb Chamber of Commerce members, eating disorder specialists, and the Veritas Collaborative executive team and multidisciplinary staff.
“Today we celebrate breaking down barriers, advancing access to care, and growing our collaborative community with the opening of our new Child, Adolescent, and Young Adult Hospital,” said Stacie McEntyre, founder, president, and CEO of Veritas Collaborative. “As the state’s first hospital focused solely on the treatment of eating disorder illnesses, we welcome the opportunity to work hand-in-hand with the community to positively impact the lives of young people of all genders and their families devastated by eating disorder illnesses in metro Atlanta, the state of Georgia, and throughout the Southeast.”
Prior to a ceremonial ribbon cutting, Miss Paulding County’s Outstanding Teen 2018 and first runner-up for Miss Georgia Outstanding Teen, Fallon Robinson, stressed to attendees how impactful the Atlanta hospital will be for young people who were previously required to seek out of state treatment for higher levels of care for eating disorders.
Robinson’s comments were reiterated by DeKalb County Commissioner Nancy Jester’s reading of Gov. Deal’s proclamation that designated Aug. 1, 2018, as Access to Eating Disorder Care Day. Attendees enjoyed refreshments, entertainment, and hospital tours throughout the evening celebration.
“We are delighted to welcome Veritas Collaborative to Atlanta,” said Maynard Franklin, director of membership development for the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce. “Their engagement in communities where they have an established presence is palpable, and we look forward to their future contributions in our area as well.”
The Child, Adolescent, and Young Adult Hospital in Atlanta, a 62,980-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility, is located at 41 Perimeter Center East in Dunwoody, Ga. It provides multidisciplinary care for children, adolescents, and young adults up to age 21 impacted by eating disorder illnesses, and it is the first of its kind in Georgia and surrounding states. The 50-bed hospital provides inpatient, residential, and partial hospitalization services. The existing Veritas center facility located at 6600 Peachtree Dunwoody Road in Atlanta will continue to provide medical assessments and multidisciplinary – medical, psychiatric, psychotherapy, and nutrition – outpatient and intensive outpatient services to ensure that persons impacted by eating disorders have access to the full spectrum of Veritas Collaborative care.
The hospital in Atlanta is a strong representation of the Veritas Collaborative healthcare system’s steady growth as it is the sixth site, and third hospital, since the company’s first site opened in 2012. All six facilities specialize in the treatment of eating disorders – a 40-bed child and adolescent hospital in Durham, N.C.; a 25-bed adult hospital in Durham, N.C.; two outpatient clinics in Atlanta and Richmond, Va.; and an outpatient center in Charlotte, N.C., which opened in January 2018 to treat children, adolescents, and young adults up to age 24.
Veritas services benefit many of the 30 million Americans who are affected by eating disorders. The company’s multidisciplinary team understands that it is imperative to treat eating disorder illnesses close to the age of onset – around 12 years of age – at the highest level of care and achieve stabilization before transitioning to outpatient care.
Individuals interested in receiving care at the hospital in Atlanta for persons under 21 years of age should contact Veritas Collaborative’s Center Intake Team at 855-875-5812 or admissions@veritascollaborative.com.
About Veritas Collaborative
Veritas Collaborative is a specialty healthcare system for the treatment of eating disorders. Veritas provides a range of individualized, evidence-based services for ages 8 and older, including inpatient, acute residential, partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient, and outpatient levels of care in a gender-diverse and inclusive environment. Veritas envisions a world in which all persons with eating disorders and their families have access to best-practice care and hold hope for a cure. Our multidisciplinary team of treatment professionals include physicians, psychiatrists, dietitians, therapists, nurses, teachers, culinary team members, and therapeutic assistants.