Inpatient Eating Disorder Program

The first step for many of our patients is hospitalization. Why? Because many patients come to us quite ill, having lost significant amount of weight, with a low heart rate and poor cardiac functioning, or abnormal electrolytes. Some are weak and fainting. Some “feel fine” and are continuing to exercise, but they are cold, poorly nourished and bradycardic (low heart rate). For warning signs of anorexia in children, please view our diagnostic video. If your doctor has voiced concerns but is not sure if a referral to a sub-specialist such as Kartini Clinic is warranted, ask them to review our Medical Provider guidelines as well as our hospitalization criteria.

Hospitalization often comes as a shock to parents, many of whom fail to realize how ill their child has become. While there is no way for us to minimize this shock, it may be helpful to bear in mind that, once the child is in the hospital, they are safe.Experience has taught us that patients whose day treatment stay is preceded by the initiation of re-feeding while in the hospital struggle much less with food later.

Our pediatricians hospitalize patients at Legacy Emanual Children's Hospital, on a dedicated ward with nurses specially trained to be sensitive to the needs of our patients. Our pediatricians monitor a patient's progress seven days a week, 365 days a year. On weekends, one of our pediatricians will meet and discuss the medical progress with the parents. This allows working parents to return to work during the week, and receive a more extensive update on either Saturday or Sunday, when most parents find it easier to attend. While it will not be possible to get updates from the doctors during the week, unless parents are able to catch them on weekday rounds, Emanuel assigns a registered nurse case manager to our patients who should be available by phone for any concerns from 9AM to 12 noon, Monday through Friday. Additionally, each patient’s parents and/or family meet with a Kartini Clinic family therapist weekly, and with our psychiatric nurse practitioner for a psychiatric assessment of the child.Whenever medication is being considered or administered, visits with the psychiatric nurse practitioners will continue weekly. Parents should also attend free of charge weekly Parent Support group, on Monday evenings, 5PM, at the Clinic. This support group can also be a source of information and support for other adult family members (such as grandparents) on a space-available basis.

Kartini Clinic's hospital service is highly structured: only parents may visit, food and exercise are strictly controlled, phone access is highly limited and friends are not allowed to visit. During the school year Portland public school system provides classes to help our students stay up to date with their course work.

We should stress that this is a medical hospitalization only; your child will be discharged as soon as they are medically stable, whether or not they have achieved psychological stability. Work on psychological issues takes place primarily in the Day Treatment Unit. The average length of stay is approximately 2-3 weeks, but some stays are only a few days and some are longer than 3 weeks.