If you or someone you love are suffering from a severe eating disorder with medical complications, the specially trained team of professionals at Torrance Memorial's Eating Disorders medical unit can help.

Eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are complex conditions that require specialized care. This is especially true of people who are suffering from medical complications, such as gastrointestinal conditions, cardiac complications or abnormal blood work as a result of their eating disorders. Patients with these additional concerns need medical stabilization before they can be successfully treated in a residential or outpatient treatment program.

Why the Torrance Memorial Eating Disorders Program?

With over 20 years experience in treating adolescents and younger adults with eating disorders, our Eating Disorders Program offers hope for these high-risk patients. Because the cause and effect of these conditions is emotional and behavioral as well as physical, our expert interdisciplinary team of professionals includes specially trained physicians, nurses, nutritionists, psychologists, family therapists and other support staff.

We treat the whole individual, both physically and emotionally, and our approach is tailored specifically for each patient. We understand that an eating disorder impacts the entire family, not just the patient, and our services include individual and family therapy and support.

We work closely with each patient and their family to determine their best pathway forward after discharge. Our goal is to get each and every one of our patients well enough to enter into the next phase of their treatment—safely and with the greatest chance for success.

Expert and Experienced Staff

When it comes to treating complex eating disorders—especially those with medical complications—experience counts. Our Medical Director, Dr. Linda Schack has been treating teens and young adults with all types of eating disorders for more than 20 years. Dr. Schack leads a team of specially qualified physicians, nurses, nutritionists and therapists who work together to treat each patient according to their specific needs and condition. Our team also works closely with other specialists from Torrance Memorial, including cardiologists, gastroenterologists and nephrologists, to treat medical conditions that result from severe eating disorders.

What You Can Expect

• Highly individualized care in a small, private setting
• An assessment by highly trained physicians and nurses specializing in eating disorders
• A customized treatment plan including laboratory testing and appropriate medical monitoring
• A comprehensive nutritional needs assessment
• One-on-one supervision of meals and snacks by nursing staff
• Family therapy
• Individual psychotherapy, family therapy, and nutrition education several times weekly
• Discharge planning and support

Admission Process

The adolescents and young adults that are admitted to the Torrance Memorial Eating Disorders medical unit are referred by residential and outpatient programs, health care providers, and family. Learn more about the admissions process.

Insurance

It is important to note that admission to a hospital stabilization program allows patients to use their medical insurance benefit, thus preserving their behavioral health coverage for the residential, partial hospitalization, or intensive outpatient programs to which they will be transferred upon achieving medical stabilization.