August 17, 2022
With eating disorders on the rise, especially among adolescents, expanding access to care is more important than ever. In fact, recent data show hospitalizations for eating disorders among adolescents more than doubled since the onset of COVID-19 as reported by Pediatrics. The isolation, lack of structure and heightened anxiety of the COVID-19 pandemic are all potential reasons we’re seeing this spike in eating disorders.
Monte Nido & Affiliates, one of the largest and leading eating disorder treatment providers in the country, recently opened a new residential eating disorder center for adolescents in St. Louis. In a comforting, home-like setting, Clementine St. Louis provides clinical and nutritional care with medical and psychiatric oversight for adolescents of all genders with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder and/or exercise addiction.
To generate awareness of this new resource for St. Louis area teens, our team shared these recent statistics concerning American adolescents and eating disorders and emphasized the importance of early intervention. Through these efforts, our team secured coverage in a variety of local media outlets, including KMOV-TV, KMOX-AM, Ladue News, Spectrum News and St. Louis Post-Dispatch. In total, coverage of the opening of Clementine St. Louis generated more than 21.4 million impressions.
Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental health illness, and early intervention can be a key factor in recovery. By expanding access to care for adolescents, and knowledge on how and where to receive that care, those in need of early treatment will have a greater chance of recovery.