Referrals are received from all regions of the province; they must come from family physicians or other health professionals. Patients receive comprehensive evaluations. The Intake Coordinator reviews all referrals and schedules the assessment. Once a referral is accepted, patients may receive a medical, psycho-social or psychiatric assessment, and will complete a number of clinical questionnaires. Patients may also receive a nutritional and a family assessment. These assessments are used to determine the most appropriate services for the patient and family. Regular assessments occur once a week. Referring physicians or health care professionals, along with the patient and family, then will receive a report about the assessment day findings and recommendations. The assessment and options for treatment are discussed with patients and their families. Click here to see a printable pamphlet outlining our services. In-hospital consultation and phone consultation are available to community health care professionals through a daytime on-call schedule staffed by the program’s physicians. Referral form - Click here for a downloadable referral form. (Must be completed by a physician.)After referral, physicians are asked to contact the Intake Coordinator if there is a change of their patient’s status.
The Provincial Specialized Eating Disorders Program at Children's plays a major role as a teaching centre. Health care professional trainees from all disciplines, including staff from other agencies, receive specialized training within the Program under the supervision of our clinicians. We provide workshops, seminars, and lectures to a wide variety of groups about understanding eating disorders in children and adolescents, as well as aspects of assessment and treatment. Contact the Provincial Coordinator /Education to plan a visit or request. Our Program liaises with the Provincial Eating Disorders Advisory Committee (PEDAC) and the St. Paul’s Hospital Eating Disorders Program (for adults).
A telephone consultation service is available Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for pediatricians, GPs, and health care professionals who are treating children and adolescents with eating disorders. Call 604-875-2200. We help provide linkage to community services pre- and post-admission, and also participate in the exchange of knowledge with community eating disorders programs. We use telehealth services for team-to-team, and children and family consultations. Staff at Children’s Eating Disorders Program assist in the development of assessment and treatment services in communities around BC.
Several staff members contributed articles to a theme issue on eating disorders and youth in the BC Medical Journal. Topics included:
Click here to read these BCMJ articles. In Archive tab under January 2005.
“Meal support therapy is probably one of the most under-estimated yet critical components of the nutritional rehabilitation process in eating disorders. Meal support is not just ‘watching someone eat.’ Effective meal support takes planning and preparation.” -- Pierre Leichner, MD, FRCPC Psychiatrist, Provincial Specialized Eating Disorders Program
A series of 42 basic fact sheets on various mental health and addictions topics in Arabic, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Farsi (Persian) Dari, English, French, Korean, Punjabi, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese are available from Here to Help BC.The articles in the primers are researched using the best available evidence and are written in an easy-to-read, magazine style with statistics, interviews and sidebars, and are intended for people with little or no contact with these issues. Click here to view or print the fact sheets.Main reception # for the Provincial Specialized Eating Disorders Program at BC Children's Hospital.