New Funding Increases Access to Pediatric Eating Disorder Services at North York General Hospital
TORONTO (April 26, 2022) – North York General Hospital (NYGH) is receiving $905,400 in annual, provincial funding to treat more children and teens with complex eating disorders.
NYGH is a recognized leader in treating children and adolescents with eating disorders. This new funding will enable NYGH to deliver intensive, inpatient care for 100 young people annually (between the ages of 12-18) and expand access and reduce wait times for NYGH’s Outpatient Child and Adolescent Eating Disorders program.
“During the pandemic, we have seen an unprecedented rise in the need for pediatric mental health services including eating disorders. Young people and their families are facing long waiting lists with many travelling far from home in search of specialized care for eating disorders,” said Karyn Popovich, President and CEO of North York General Hospital. “With this new funding, we can treat and support more children and teens and help to improve their health and well-being.”
With this new funding, NYGH will dedicate six of its twelve existing general pediatric beds to provide inpatient and highly specialized care to support very unwell patients requiring acute medical stabilization of their illnesses. The NYGH team will also expand access to additional assessment, clinical care and therapy within the existing Outpatient Child and Adolescent Eating Disorder program, to reduce wait times for patients and families and ensure a seamless transition to outpatient therapy post-discharge from hospital. To support the expansion of inpatient and outpatient services, NYGH is hiring additional nurses and other mental health clinicians, specialized dieticians, children and youth counsellors, and others to support patients and their families at each step of their treatment and care.
“During the early months of the pandemic, our team moved quickly to adopt an innovative model where we provided a mix of in-person and virtual care so we could continue treating our patients with minimal disruptions. Thanks to our team’s dedication, expertise and efficiency, we have now become a recognized leader in the GTA in treating children and adolescents with eating disorders,” said Dr. Ronik Kanani, Chief of Pediatrics and Co-Medical Director of Maternal, Newborn and Pediatric Care Program at North York General Hospital. “Today’s announcement will allow us to continue to be responsive, at a regional level and on a permanent basis, to the urgent needs of young patients along the eating disorder care continuum.”
North York General Hospital is one of six Ontario hospitals with a dedicated, inpatient pediatric eating disorder program and treatment spaces and one of 12 Ontario hospitals with a dedicated paediatric outpatient eating disorder treatment program.
Currently, 50 percent of patients who are referred to NYGH’s Child and Adolescent Eating Disorder Program come from outside of North York.
The hospital’s Pediatric Inpatient and Outpatient Child and Adolescent Eating Disorder program provides assessment, diagnosis and treatment for children and teenagers with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and other eating disorders. The inpatient program focuses on medical stabilization and supporting patients to successfully transition to outpatient treatment. The day hospital program provides medical, nutritional, mental health care to children and youth and an academic program staffed by a teacher.
Eating disorders are serious but treatable conditions, and if left untreated it can lead to serious consequences including death.
North York General Hospital
NYGH is a leading academic community hospital that provides high-quality acute, ambulatory, and long-term care to approximately half a million people across seven sites. NYGH was ranked Canada’s leading community hospital by Newsweek for the fourth consecutive year and is on the Forbes’ list of Canada’s Top Employers 2022.
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For more information, contact: corporate.communications@nygh.on.ca.