Veritas Collaborative Celebrates Two-Year Anniversary of Atlanta’s Only Multidisciplinary Eating Disorder Clinic
Veritas Collaborative, a specialty healthcare system for the treatment of eating disorders, today celebrates the two-year anniversary of its Child, Adolescent, and Young Adult Clinic in Atlanta. The center is the state’s only gender-diverse, multidisciplinary eating disorder center to provide comprehensive medical assessments that diagnose eating disorders and other conditions that may require medical intervention.
The Veritas Collaborative Atlanta Center saw more than 5,000 office visits in 2018, nearly doubling visits during its initial 11 months of operation in 2017. The organization also collaborated with a variety of providers, hospital systems, and community organizations to provide enhanced education and support around a health concern that affects an estimated 30 million people nationwide.
“Two years ago we opened the Atlanta Center 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 and in the state of Georgia,” said Stacie McEntyre, LCSW, CEDS, founder, president and CEO of Veritas Collaborative. “As we expand, we continue to strive for excellence with our collaborative approach, and I’m proud of our results. We are transforming a community with science-based, compassionate eating disorders care through increased access to medical, nutritional, and mental health.” In the past two years, the Atlanta Center has truly impacted a community to create increased access to medical care for eating disorders where it did not exist before:
- Medical Assessments: The Assessment Center has grown beyond expectations, and currently sees 10-12 new patients each week. Comprehensive medical assessments are often the entry point for an individual’s recovery journey and provide appropriate diagnoses of eating disorders or other conditions that may require medical intervention. The Atlanta Center is the only facility in Georgia that offers this type of comprehensive medical assessment. Conducted by uniquely qualified doctors and eating disorder specialists, these assessments are medically-based and ensure that individuals with known or suspected eating disorders are receiving the right diagnosis with the right level of care at the right time. Individuals who receive assessments, and for whom a higher level of eating disorders care is indicated, benefit from a streamlined admissions process and assurance that they are set up for success in long-term recovery.
- Intensive Outpatient Services: In addition to medical assessments, the center offers an Intensive Outpatient Program to ensure a broader continuum of levels of care in Georgia. This program, which started as a small group of three in October of 2017, has grown to a steady group of 12-14 patients.
- Outpatient Services: Patients stepping down from higher levels of care need treatment to maintain use of the skills learned in treatment. This lower level of care provides a supportive environment to ensure an individual’s continued recovery. Individuals receive treatment with licensed professionals housed under one roof in one clinic. Multidisciplinary treatment teams – made up of physicians, psychiatrists, dietitians, culinary professionals, therapists, nurses, and skilled therapeutic assistants – aim to equip individuals, families, and communities with the skills necessary to continue recovery in the home environment.
- Multi-State Care: In two years of operations, the Atlanta Center has welcomed patients from a three-state area. Some patients drive six hours each way to continue care at the clinic. We are proud to provide them with much-needed access to care for their treatment of eating disorders.
- Telemedicine: Always trying to drive the standard of care, the Atlanta Center made its first foray into telemedicine in 2018. This endeavor is so effective at improving access to care in distant locations that there is discussion to expand telehealth services for a broader range of program alumni.
In addition to the clinic’s incredible accomplishments, Veritas Collaborative also opened a new 50-bed hospital, the Atlanta Child, Adolescent, and Young Adult Hospital, in 2018 to provide inpatient, residential, and partial hospitalization services for those with eating disorders.
“We have created a culture of collaborative growth, service, and community integration since the center doors opened in 2017,” said Anna Tanner, MD, FAAP, FSAHM, CEDS, vice president of medical services for Veritas Collaborative. “And, we have no intention of slowing down. The center and the hospital are invaluable resources for families on the journey to recovery from this devastating disease, so we’re humbled to provide these necessary treatments for our community and our state.”
The Child, Adolescent, and Young Adult Center in Atlanta is located at 6600 Peachtree Dunwoody Road in Atlanta. It provides medical assessments and multidisciplinary outpatient and intensive outpatient services to children, adolescents, and young adults up to age 24 impacted by eating disorder illnesses in a gender-diverse and inclusive environment. Patients treated in the Atlanta Center have access to the full spectrum of Veritas Collaborative care. 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 treatment can 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, 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.