S. Todd Callahan, MD, MPH & Elizabeth Gregory, LCSW

Presentation Title:

“Using the Emergency Department and Medical Hospital to Care for Youth with Eating Disorders: Who, When, Where, and How”

Presentation Overview:

Patients with eating disorders often have physical and psychological symptoms that may not be easily managed in an outpatient treatment setting.  Emergency department and medical hospitals serve a vital role in treating acute medical consequences of eating disorder symptoms and ensuring safety for youth with suicidal symptoms. Because mental health care resources are limited, they are also points of access for youth/families who do not have readily available resources for treatment of the child’s eating disorder.

This interactive workshop will review: 1) the epidemiology of emergency department and hospital utilization for youth with eating disorders, 2) current consensus guidelines for medical hospitalization, and 3) the strengths and challenges of caring for youth with eating disorders in the hospital setting.

The workshop presenters oversee the hospital care of youth with eating disorders in a large tertiary pediatric hospital and will provide a perspective on their approach to the care of youth in the hospital along with tips for determining who may benefit from hospitalization and when, where, and how to access the medical system to care for patients with eating disorders.

Learning Objectives:

1. Attendees will be able to understand the epidemiology of emergency department and hospital use for youth with eating disorders
2. Attendees will be able to name three criteria that should prompt consideration for medical hospitalization
3. Attendees will be able to recall three strengths and challenges for caring for youth with eating disorders in the hospital
4. Attendees will eb able to develop a strategy for facilitating emergency department or hospital care for patients with eating disorders

Speaker Biography:

S. Todd Callahan, MD, MPH is Director of the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Health and Professor of Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He completed a residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, and Pediatric Chief Residency at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. He completed fellowship in Adolescent Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital and received an MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health. He is the medical director of the Eating Disorders Program within the Department of Pediatrics. Dr. Callahan is an Associate Editor of the medical text, Neinstein’s Adolescent and Young Adult Health Care.

 

 

Elizabeth Gregory, LCSW is a Social Worker III at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. She received her BA at the University of Hartford and her MSW at Simmons University. She received her certificate in alcohol and drug counseling at UMass Boston. She is the social worker for the eating disorder program in the adolescent and young adult health clinic.