Children’s Minnesota’s Center for the Treatment of Eating Disorders offers inpatient and customized outpatient treatment for children, adolescents, and adults in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. The main work of recovery in this program happens outpatient, and inpatient is used only for medical stabilization.
Inpatient treatment for young patients up to college age is offered at Children’s Hospital Minnesota’s St. Paul campus. Stabilization for older adults is housed at Abbott Northwestern Hospital.
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CTED Children’s Hospital Minnesota (Center for Treating Eating Disorders)
summer 2023
Inpatient
Yes
Im not sure if theres a certain number they can take but I ate with I think 5 other patients in the dining room, although there may have been more patients eating in their rooms.
All
Yes
I was only there for 2 days as I kept getting transferred between different treatment centers, but I think I saw my entire team both days.
Not sure, its on a general hospital floor so there are staff everywhere.
No clue, wasn’t there long enough.
Average mediocre hospital food. I ate in the dining room with a few other patients which was a bit tense. CTED is a medical stabilization unit so the people they treat are usually very emaciated which made me compare myself to everyone but thankfully the only time you really saw the other patients was in the dining room.
They would ask if you wanted to supplement towards the end of the meal, I was able to take it back to my room and sit with a nurse instead of sitting in the dining room. They will tube you for non-compliance but none of the other patients were tubed which honestly helped motivate me to do oral intake a lot.
I don’t know
I don’t think so.
I don’t think they did groups, it was 90% room based treatment. I know they sometimes take the group down to the child life room (a big room in children’s hospital with a ton of different fun activities to do) that was very fun.
The rooms are very nice and big.
I was the oldest one there, I was 18.
If you need medical stabilization yes.
You could walk around the unit a bit but that was it.
I don’t think so, although I got weighed in the ER before they took me up to the unit and I saw my weight.
They try not to keep anybody for more than a few weeks, it’s not a long term facility and they will want to transfer you to inpatient or residential once you are stable.
I think the age cap was 21 for new patients and 25 for existing. I was the oldest in the group at 18 and I believe the youngest was 12. Staff told me they have treated patients as young as 5.
You can have visitors at any time, my mom even slept in the room with me the second night.
You can bring whatever you want !!
I dont think so.
I already had a team as I transferred to CTED from a residential program and my team already had me set up with an inpatient program to go to after i discharged from CTED.
Does anybody know what age they go up to? I heard it changed with COVID and I’m confused lol Thanks!
How does the adult referral to Abbott work? Has anyone stabilized at Abbott since they closed the adult program? Is there a contact? Any suggestions??
Thanks
Hi Nikki! Here is what I have found so far:
For Abbott Northwestern in St. Paul, Minnesota try this number: 612-813-7179. That is the number for Children’s Minnesota’s Center for the Treatment of Eating Disorders, which is the outpatient program for children, adolescents, and adults that coordinates inpatient hospitalization for children/adolescents at Children’s Hospital and adults at Abbott Northwestern.
https://www.childrensmn.org/services/care-specialties-departments/eating-disorders/
https://www.childrensmn.org/for-health-professionals/refer-patient-childrens/eating-disorders/ You can also have your doctor call this number: 866-755-2121 (for 24/7 referral, admission and transport assistance)
When were you there?
A few different times between 2019 and 2020.
How many patients on average?
There is not really an average. CTED (Center for the Treatment of Eating Disorders – the official name of this program within Children’s Minnesota), serves those who are medically unstable, at the Saint Paul location on the general medical floor. Since it is a hospital, people are admitted 24/7. You could wake up and have one person in the program, and have 3 new patients be admitted to the program an hour later. Some days there were 12 – 13 patients and other times I was there I was one of three or four patients.
Does it treat both males and females? If so, is treatment separate or combined?
They treat both male and females. Groups (such as meals, snacks, and activities), are Coed. But all other treatment is individual and done in your private hospital room.
How often do you see a medical doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist (therapist), nutritionist, etc?
Medical Doctor: every day, sometimes more than once a day if needed.
Therapist: Once a day Monday – Saturday.
Dietitian: Once a day Monday – Friday
Psychiatrist: Once a day Monday – Friday
Consultations with all other providers are ordered by your team on a case-by-case basis, depending on needs. Patients in the CTED program are commonly referred to providers within the Integrative Medicine department, and physical therapy!
What is the staff ratio to patients?
This really varies!
What sort of therapies are used? (DBT, CBT, EMDR) etc?
Primarily CBT-E and FBT
Describe the average day:
Vitals: between 5:30 am and 7:00 am
Breakfast: 8:00 am – 8:30 am
Group Therapy: 8:30 am – 9:00 am
Rounds: (when all of the providers come around and meet with you individually). 9:00 am – 11:30 am
Lunch: 11:30 am – 12:00 pm
Activity: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Rounds continued: 1:00 pm – 2:15 pm
Snack: 2:15 pm – 2:30 pm
Activity: 2:30 pm – 3:00 pm
Family Time: 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Optional Activity: 4:00 pm – 4:50
Dinner: 5:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Activity: 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm
After 6:30 pm you spend the rest of the night in your room. You do complete a snack sometime between 8:00 and 10:00 pm in your room, with your nurse or nurses assistant.
What were meals like?
Hospital food… so, not great.
What sorts of food were available or served?
Meals are planned by your dietitian and rotate.
Did they supplement? How did that system work?
If you do not complete your meal, they supplement with boost. If you refuse the boost, they might place an NG tube.
Are you able to be a vegetarian?
Yes. But keep in mind, options are going to be more limited since you are in a hospital.
Does it work on a level system?
No. This program is really for short term medical stabilization.
What did you like the most?
The entire CTED team is amazing. They are so good at what they do, and work super hard to get you to the right place you need to be.
What did you like the least?
The CTED team does not do much rounding on the weekends. There is a Therapist on Saturday mornings. However, if you are admitted to the program after the therapist leaves on Saturday or come on Sunday, you kind of have to wait for a true Treatment plan until Monday. Also, if you are having a break down that is eating disorder related, the medical team doesn’t really always know how to intervene and support.
Would you recommend this program?
Yes
What level of activity or exercise was allowed?
Your not allowed to exercise. Nurses and parents are instructed to prevent the patient from engaging in any kind of excessive movement. However, if you are older and your parents are not always with you, your nurse might choose to leave the door and curtain open in your room for observation, or assign a nurses assistant to sit with you.
What did people do on weekends?
Same schedule as described above. However, with the exception that you won’t see any CTED providers (other than a therapist on Saturday morning).
Do you get to know your weight?
You will be blindly weighed every morning. In my experience the therapist will expose you to your weight on Thursdays. However, if you ask, and your therapist deems it appropriate, they might expose it to you at other times.
How fast is the weight gain process?
Depends on the person. For me, the goal was 2-3 pounds per week.
What was the average length of stay?
1-4 weeks
What was the average age range?
10-21 was the average. However, this program treats patients younger than age 10, through the age of 21.
How do visits/phone calls work?
What is the electronics policy? (ex: cell phones, iPods, Kindle, laptop, tablet?)
You have all of your electronics at all times. Parents can be at your side at all times, visitors are welcome when programming is not in session.
Are you able to go out on passes?
Nope
What kind of aftercare do they provide? Do they help you set up an outpatient treatment team?
Are there any resources for people who come from out of state/country?
They do a great job coordinating your next steps and will refer you to the place you need to be. I would say most of their patients will do Outpatient therapy with their family, and their parents are taught how to provide support for their child to recover from their ED. However, others are referred to other levels of care, such as residential treatment at other facilities when medical interventions are no longer needed.
Could someone please do a current review? I’d appreciate it so much!
I was on the floor in July, if anyone is looking for a review or has questions please let me know.:)
putting up a current review would be much appreciated!
I have not been a patient here *but* I have several close friends who have, I have visited patients here, and I know the program creator.
The program at Abbott is the adult extension of the program at the nearby Children’s hospital. A major focus of the program is on outpatient treatment. The inpatient program is for medical stabilization. Two psychiatrists with experience and expertise in eating disorders treatment started the program in 2011. There are also several other psychiatrists that form the core of the treatment team. They focus on CBT, CBT-E, and DBT in treatment. The inpatient program is located on a general medical floor. From my understanding, the staff working on this floor have received some training in working with eating disorder patients. You have your own room/bathroom. I am not sure if the bathroom is ever locked. There is a group room where groups are held and meals/snacks are eaten. I believe you stay in the room for an hour after each meal/snack for supervision. The psychiatrists run the groups. From what I have been told, meals/snacks are supervised but often not very well. I am not sure how meal planning works. You can get permission to eat in your room with visitors and sometimes permission to go downstairs to eat with visitors. You can walk around the hospital and the floor. They do use tube feeding and supplements. The main focus of inpatient is to achieve medical stability. The stays are generally short (1-2 weeks).
The main work of recovery is done in outpatient. The program really focuses on self-motivation and choosing recovery. From what I hear, you may have outpatient appointments with one of the psychiatrists up to 3-4 times per week in the beginning. You slowly taper down to less frequent appointments.
I have heard both positive and negative reviews of the program. It seems to be a really good fit for some and not for others. I think this is like any program. In addition, this program is really for people who live in the area given the focus on longer term outpatient treatment.
When were you there: July 2012
How many patients on average? like 4
Does it treat both males and females? If so, is treatment separate or combined. Both, together
Describe the average day: Get up, get vitals taken, go down to breakfast, possibly have 1 group, go back to room. Stay in room till snack, go have snack and wait 30mins then go back to room, stay in room till lunch, go to lunch, have a group, go back to room, stay in room till snack, go have snack and wait 30mins then go back to room, stay in room till dinner then go have dinner and maybe another group. So yes boring day! your allowed to go off unit whenever you want except during meals and snacks or groups. You can have visitors whenever. Cant leave the hospital.
What were meals like? uncomfortable. You went down to a room and ate there. It was basically in silence.
What sorts of food were available or served? regular hospital food
Did they supplement? How did that system work? you had to drink ensure or boost if you didnt eat 100%. They would tube if you continue to refuse to eat or supplement
What is the policy of not complying with meals? Supplements or tube
Are you able to be a vegetarian? Not sure
What privelages are allowed? Computers, Cell phones, anything a regular hospital would allow you to have, the ability to go off unit
Does it work on a level system? no
How do you earn privelages? you didnt earn them, they were just there
What sort of groups do they have? nutrition groups, educational groups, sometimes artsy groups, spiritual group
What was your favorite group? none
What did you like the most? the freedom
What did you like the least? The fact that you did NOTHING all day. And that they didnt really care what you did, i could have exercised for all they cared! I also didnt like that you were in your room alone so much and not watched(especially because i deal with self harm and suicide)
Would you recommend this program? only as a short term stabilization.
What level of activity or exercise was allowed? anything you really wanted..they didnt pay attention
What did people do on weekends? Whatever they wanted….usually hang out in your room or walk around the hospital.
Do you get to know your weight? No
What was the average length of stay? probably around a week
What was the average age range? early 20s
How do visits/phone calls work? You can have your cell phone. You can make calls or have visitors whenever
Are you able to go out on passes? No, but you can go off unit and sit outside or something
This ED unit is on a regular medical floor.