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34 - The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday November 3, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com OTMH on cutting edge for eating disorders New treatment program developed by leading researcher in England hen it comes to treating eating disorders, Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital (OTMH) is on the cutting edge. The hospital recently launched the Multi-Family Group Therapy (MFGT) program thanks to support from Sun Life Financial to the tune of $60,000. The new program will support current treatments and is an innovative form of eating disorder treatment designed to better help patients and their families. "Because of this gift, our community will now have access to a program close to home and this would not have been possible any other way," said Allen Wightman, Executive Director of the Oakville Hospital Foundation in a news release from OTMH. Watching a loved one wilt away physically and emotionally can be devastating for families. This program will be a new resource for support and assistance. "We have a large stake in the health of our communities and we give priority to innovative programs that address health needs," said Linda Mackenzie, director of philanthropy at Sun Life Financial. "The Multi-Family Group Therapy program will give these children and teens a better chance to enjoy a full adolescence W and minimize the impact and emotional costs on families. It may also help reduce the burden on the healthcare system," said Alison Colavecchia, Regional Co-ordinator for the Central West Eating Disorders Program. Eating disorders are complicated illnesses that often leave professionals and families frustrated and at a loss. The MFGT will complement current programs such as nutritional therapy, individual therapy, family therapy and group therapy. It has been developed over the past three years in England. It provides a more time intensive and emotionally-charged form of family intervention than traditional outpatient family therapy. MFGT aims to help families rediscover their own resources. The sharing of experiences and the heightened dynamics of multiple families working together are critical components of the treatment. Clinical experience and results from pilot studies are promising and suggest that MFGT may be very effective. OTMH is part of Halton Healthcare Service (HHS), which is comprised of Georgetown Hospital, Milton District Hospital and OTMH. Together they serve more than 275,000 residents. "Because of this gift, our community will now have access to a program close to home and this would not have been possible any other way." Allen Wightman, Oakville Hospital Foundation The Oakville Hospital Foundation raises funds like the Sun Life donation for OTMH to provide services, which government funding alone cannot provide. "Sun Life Financial is a leader in philanthropic giving as well is in health insurance. They are a great example of how a corporation can partner with the community for the benefit of all," said Wightman. HHS' Eating Disorders Program was started as a pilot project in 1998 by a $36,000 grant from the Oakville Hospital Foundation. In 2001, it expanded with a provincial grant. With regionalization, HHS became the lead agency in the Central West Regional Eating Disorders Program. Working out of OTMH, the regional co-ordinator develops outpatient programming and works in partnership with William Osler Health Centre, Credit Valley Hospital, Grand River Hospital, Cambridge Memorial Hospital and the Community Mental Health Clinic in Wellington/Dufferin, to meet the needs of the Central West Ontario Region. On average the larger region sees about 800 individuals with eating disorders per year plus their family members. About 40 per cent are children and teens, 96 per cent are female and four per cent are male. Halton sees on average about 150 and approximately 60 are children and teens, ranging in age from seven to 18. Children are being diagnosed younger and younger. It used to be the really young were 12-14 years of age, now they are seven to nine. Although more clients might be adults, children and teens require more intensive care. Families, while not to blame for the illness, play a critical role in recovery and the entire family requires help. A typical recovery time from diagnosis is seven years -- with the best time to treat illness being within the first two years. Ideally all children diagnosed with an eating disorder would get a comprehensive treatment -- close to home. However, the capacity to admit children and teens for treatment is limited as no acute facilities or services are available anywhere in Halton, Peel, Wellington, Waterloo, and Dufferin. Ontario has only 16 inpatient specialized eating disorder beds -- 10 at the Hospital for Sick Children and six at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario. So people must either seek private care, potentially even out of country or go on lengthy wait lists. Traditional treatment has not produced good outcomes for anorexia nervosa. The cost of poor recovery rates is a high mortality rate and poor quality of life. The new treatment option should help families and patients close to home and reduce the need for hospital admissions. Through the treatment of six families simultaneously, families are able to establish support. It will also save money as inpatient pediatric beds average $550/day with a typical stay of two to six weeks while the MFGT will treat six families for approximately 10 days for less than $5,000. Partnering with HHS to provide MFGT is Ivan Eisler, head of Family Therapy at the Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College, London, England. He is also head of the Child and Adolescent Eating Disorder Service at Maudsley Hospital in London. Since 1982 he has been part of a clinical research team investigating psychotherapies for anorexia and bulimia nervosa. The treatment approaches developed by his team are used as a model internationally and its research is widely quoted as the principal evidence for treatments in adolescent anorexia nervosa. Also a partner in the new program is the Hospital for Sick Children, which has endeavored to establish Multi-Family Group Therapy in a Canadian context. Sick Kids staff members have trained in England and are disseminating their expertise to other providers across Ontario as the contracted trainers for the Ontario Outreach Program for Eating Disorders.