Albany Medical Center is located in Northeastern New York, and offers a hospital room-based medical stabilization program for people with eating disorders who are medically unstable. They are partnered with HPA Livewell, an outpatient and intensive outpatient (IOP) treatment program for eating disorders and mental health across the state of New York, with both virtual and in-person options. A Maudsley/Family-Based-Therapy (FBT) treatment program is also offered at Albany for children/adolescents with eating disorders
Any current reviews? Please post in comments below. You can check out the FAQ and Guidelines for suggested questions. Thank you!
Does anyone have a recent review for here and/or Livewell IOP? Thank you!
I’m admitting here next week and terrified but know i am making the right choice. any other recent feedback i know its few and far between.
Hi, MC,
I reached out to the point person whose name is mentioned below for more current accurate information. She wouldn’t really give me much to go on, but she said the program is the same exact protocol as when I was there in 2018.
That means it is 24/7 1:1 room–based care. You will have an attendant with you at all times, even when showering and using the bathroom. You will also be forced to sit in the shower on a special chair, regardless of weight. You will get no movement at the beginning of your stay, so that means you may either lie in your hospital bed, or move to a big club chair. The nurses will wake you up multiple times during the night to check your vitals, which can be very frustrating.
You are allowed three missed meals before they will insert an NG tube. Those were her exact words in her email, so it is a bit unclear what “missed” means. I know that when I was there, it meant anything less than 100% complete.
In terms of daily programming, all professionals come to your room, and you won’t see any other patients. You can bring anything you’d like, including any electronics, and you can keep all of your chargers in your room with you.
The food is very basic, hospital grade food, but that doesn’t mean it is awful. They had very simple meals. I believe you have 30 minutes for meals, and you may not have any electronics, or the TV on while you are eating. You may also not have visitors while eating, but you are allowed visitors any other time you’d like for any length of time.
She did not answer my question about how many or what sort of doctors are involved in the care, but I do know that you will, of course see a medical doctor, and there was a registered dietitian on staff when I was there. The therapy is very much lacking, unfortunately, but the people I did see, were very kind, and very caring. There was a woman who did art, and music therapy, which was rather interesting.
I wish I had more information for you, but I was only there for a few days, so I didn’t even see the entire treatment team. The ED informed medical doctor left early last year, and I was told today they have yet to hire anyone new for that position, which I think is ridiculous!
I hope this helps a little bit, just know that the care at Albany is wonderful. They really do have a great team.
thank you for this! i am currently in IOP at Livewell and amazingly i will be able to continue doing iop from the hospital … so i will have groups and meal support 16 hours a week. this is a new and recent development as of about 6 months ago where patients can continue iop and be inpatient at the same time. i am very hopeful yet still scared .
Thank you both so much for sharing this info! I just updated the review page to reflect this wonderful information. ?
That’s so wonderful to hear, and a very interesting new type of treatment protocol I haven’t heard of! I hope it helps you to heal.
I know easier said than done, but dont be scared. Like I said, the care is very good, I just wasn’t at all ready to give it a real shot.
If you’re comfortable, and it feels right, please keep us posted. You CAN do this!
Still hoping for a recent review
The last I knew, the program was completely dismantled last year; their ED doctor up and retired one day without even telling her own receptionist.
I was given this info firsthand from the staff about a month after it happened. I even spoke with the director of their sister IOP called LiveWell, who helped create the program, and even she wasn’t aware it happened.
I entered the program in Oct. 2018, but only stayed three days. It followed the ACUTE Denver model of 24/7 1:1 observation.
You can call LiveWell, but if you believe you are needing the Albany Med program, they definitely won’t accept you; they’ll likely refer you to The Outlook in Westchester (which I believe 1000% do not recommend, or Walden in MA).
Hope this helps, and I’m sorry you’re at a point of needing such medical attention. Praying you find healing soon. <3
I’m currently in the livewell iop program and they are suggesting ip at Albany med … they said I can continue iop while I’m there from my hospital room which is promising.. then return right back to the program after stabilization of behaviors.
Thank you for the updated info.
If you have the opportunity to do both, I would highly suggest taking it. In terms of “comfortability,” their IP program ranks the highest for me; you can bring pretty much all of the comforts of home. That, and the care at AMC is very, very good.
T is tough though, so prepare for that <3
I spoke with them a few months ago and the program was still running. Tammy O*** was the contact person there.
***admin note: EDTR has a “no names” rule. an exception has been made here in order to facilitate the site’s mission of helping people access care, but per site policy a portion has been redacted for legal reasons
Thank you for this update! The information has changed every time I have contacted them in the past. I’m hoping they have a new ED-informed doctor because the last one was the only one in our entire area.
any recent reviews with all the basic questions answered?
Anyone have a review ?
This is not an inpatient program. It is a hospital and they do medical stabilization. You have to enter through the ER for triage. This information is from 08/25/2023.
Are you referring to the fact that it is listed under the inpatient tag? That’s because it is inpatient. A hospital is the definition of inpatient: “a patient who stays in a hospital while receiving medical care or treatment.” But the information you shared is really helpful, because while this may not be a therapeutic inpatient program, many people on here live in NY and can’t find medical stabilization hospitals to go to! Thank you!
Can you please elaborate? Have you been here for treatment?
Has anyone been here? I was referred here for adult inpatient and i am wondering?
I am looking for an residential impatient treatment center for my daughter who is 23 and has anorexia and bulimia. We need information soon.
Denise-
Albany unfortunately does not have a professional page so the best you can do is continue calling directly. However, the centers in our professional forum can be reached very quickly and get your questions answered. Please let me know how I can help.