Saint Francis Hospital South Opens With Expanded Services
NOW OPEN: Saint Francis Hospital South held its grand opening in late May. The hospital, located at 91st Street east of Highway 169, includes 96 inpatient beds, an emergency center, general surgery, a laboratory, radiology and imaging services, a cardiac catheterization lab and labor and delivery services.
Courtesy Saint Francis Health Systems
Laureate Psychiatric Clinic and Hospital, a part of Saint Francis Health System, is joining six other North American sites to evaluate outpatient treatments for adolescents with anorexia nervosa. To date, this is the largest National Institute of Mental Health-funded anorexia nervosa treatment study. The study will allow for a thorough evaluation of two types of family therapy and will also test whether FDA approved antidepressant medication can enhance and prolong the result. The goal of the study is to improve recovery rates.
Anorexia nervosa is a fear of weight gain leading to faulty eating patterns, malnutrition and excessive weight loss. It is a serious mental health problem that is often long lasting, and is the leading cause of death among all psychiatric illnesses.
“Males and females ages 12 through 18 are the target population, because it is essential to identify and treat the illness in its early stage,” says Craig Johnson, Ph.D., director and founder of Laureate Eating Disorders Program. He says that a parent may suspect anorexia nervosa if they have an underweight child that worries about their weight and appears to avoid food obsessively.
Dr. Johnson and Ovidio Bermudez, M.D., internationally known eating disorder experts, are the principal investigators at Laureate for this study of two forms of outpatient family therapy. The treatments prescribed in the study, have been tested and shown to be helpful with patients in previous studies at Stanford University School of Medicine and The University of Chicago Hospitals.
Behavioral family therapy, also known as the Maudsley method, focuses on changing the eating behavior of the child. The therapist first focuses on empowering parents to take charge in treating the malnourishment of their child, and encourages other family members to be partners in this effort. Once weight gain and control over the adolescent’s eating habits have been accomplished, the focus is turned toward reestablishing family relationships.
Systems Family Therapy focuses on exploring family problems that may underlie the development of the eating disorder. Together with their therapist, the family will examine communication patterns and challenge existing assumptions to work toward changing those behaviors and beliefs that could be contributing to the child’s anorexia nervosa. The therapist will also lead the family toward a discovery of their strengths and encourage them to formulate possible solutions to their current problems based on these strengths.
Individuals who suspect they might have anorexia nervosa, family members who believe their child may have the illness and physicians of potential patients are urged to call Nancy Morales, RN at (918) 491-3722 to learn more about the study and/or apply for participation. After undergoing a screening process, families who qualify will be randomly assigned to one of four treatment combinations. The study is comprised of 16 one-hour family therapy sessions delivered over a nine-month time period and a medication (either fluoxetine or placebo) delivered over 15 months under close medical supervision. The family therapy sessions, medications and medication monitoring are all paid for by the NIMH grant.
This international eating disorders study is being coordinated by Stanford University, and includes six recruitment sites: University of California San Diego, Washington University School of Medicine in Saint Louis, Cornell Medical College, Toronto General Hospital, Sheppard Pratt Health System in Baltimore and Laureate Psychiatric Clinic and Hospital.
The internationally recognized Eating Disorders Program at Laureate is designed to meet the needs of individuals with anorexia nervosa, bulima and other eating-related difficulties. The experienced staff has helped patients and families understand the causes of eating disorders and how to recover from them since 1989. A part of the Saint Francis Health System, Laureate is located directly adjacent to Saint Francis Hospital, assuring that medical needs of any kind can be met and allowing Laureate to provide all levels of care to patients with eating disorders.
Laureate is located at 6655 S. Yale, in Tulsa. For more information or to start the screening process call Nancy Morales, RN at (918) 491-3722 or e-mail her at nlmorales@saintfrancis.com.
Updated 08-11-2008
Back to Top
