Eating Disorders Clinic launches new website, marks February

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
No discrimination when it comes to eating disorders
Hotel Dieu Hospital marks Eating Disorders Awareness Week, Feb. 1-5
(Kingston, ON, Jan. 27, 2016) One message will prevail when Hotel Dieu Hospital marks Eating
Disorders Awareness Week (EDAW) Feb. 1-5: eating disorders do not discriminate—they affect
people of every age, race, gender and socio-economic status.
For example, one in four individuals with an eating disorder is male. But only a small fraction of men
seek help because they may assume treatment services exist only for women, says Dr. Brad Mac Neil,
a clinical psychologist in the Adult Eating Disorders Clinic at Hotel Dieu.
“Eating disorders in males often go unrecognized, so many men don’t receive the care they need,” he
says. “That’s why Hotel Dieu has introduced a special treatment track for men living with eating
disorders, the first service of its kind in our community.”
That unique service and more will be spotlighted 9:30-11:45 am, Tuesday, Feb. 2, when Mac Neil
and his colleagues host an Open House in Hotel Dieu’s Adult Eating Disorders Clinic. Community
members can tour the clinic, learn about its services at short, informal presentations and meet
clinicians. At 11:45 am, everyone is invited to Northern Smash, when bathroom scales brought in
by clinic clients are bashed to help raise awareness about weight-based stigma and body image.
And from 12-1 pm, community members can visit a display and chat with the eating disorders team
from the hospital’s Child & Adolescent Eating Disorders program.
“We have a strong program based entirely on helping families help their kids with eating disorders,”
says program social worker Patricia Marchand. The program continues its support once youth are
medically stable and through their eating disorder treatment. For instance, says Marchand, the
hospital recently introduced a new “Managing Powerful Emotions” group, created in conjunction with
Providence Care, which helps kids to manage new ways of coping with distress.
For more information about Hotel Dieu’s EDAW events, please call 613-544-3400, ext. 3380.
-30MEDIA OP: Media are welcome to interview Dr. Brad Mac Neil and/or Patricia Marchand
about eating disorders and the Hotel Dieu Eating Disorder programs in advance of EDAW
AND/OR to attend the events noted above on Tuesday, Feb. 2. Please RSVP Anne
Rutherford, Public Relations, 613-544-3400, ext. 3380, [email protected]
Hotel Dieu Hospital is the ambulatory care teaching and research hospital for Kingston and Southeastern Ontario,
affiliated with Queen’s University. We provide expert care to more than 500,000 people in the region through specialized
programs including pediatrics, medicine, ophthalmology, cardiology, urology, surgery, mental health, oncology and urgent
care. We deliver quality, safe health care, while advancing innovative research and educating the health care
professionals of the future. Leading the transformation of ambulatory care
L'Hôpital Hôtel-Dieu est l'établissement de soins ambulatoires universitaire pour Kingston et le Sud-Est de l'Ontario affilié
à l’Université Queen's. Il fournit des soins spécialisés à plus de 500 000 personnes de la région. Parmi ses services
spécialisés, mentionnons les services de pédiatrie, de médecine, d’ophtalmologie, de cardiologie, d’urologie, de chirurgies,
de santé mentale, d’oncologie et de soins d'urgence. L'hôpital fournit des services de soins de santé sûrs et de qualité
tout en menant des recherches novatrices et en formant les professionnels de la santé de demain. Chef de file pour la
transformation des soins ambulatoires
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