The Penn State Eating Disorder Program at Hershey Medical Center treats children, adolescents, and adults. Children and adolescents (ages 8 -17) are treated separately from adults (ages 17 and over).
They offer IOP (Intensive Outpatient), PHP (Partial Hospitalization), Inpatient Medical Stabilization, and Inpatient Psychiatric Stabilization. Penn State Health also offers a 15-week binge eating disorder (BED) intensive outpatient treatment program for teens 12 to 18 years of age. Families whose children are in treatment at the Eating Disorder Program can stay at the Ronald McDonald House.
Any current reviews? Please post in comments below. You can check out the FAQ and Guidelines for suggested questions. Thank you!
I was here in adult php 2025 and literally do. not. recommend.
staff wasn’t watchful and i watched patients get away with behaviors repeatedly. snacks and meals you were mandatorily made to play ‘table games’ and meal systems/meal plans were genuinely so confusing. (not based on nutritional components, only serving calories). groups were average at best.
any questions lmk.
Hi, does anyone have an updated review of any of the services provided by Penn State Health? They offer PHP, IOP, and outpatient levels of care. I am seeking ANY information on the program as treatment options are slim in PA for lower levels of care.
This website is from 2012. The oldest you can be to go there now is between 22 to 24. I’d like to know with Hershey Medical center being so big why don’t they have ANY services for people over there age group. Pretty sad how so many people were left to fend for themselves!!!!
what is inpaitent like?
hi! has anyone been to the young adult hershey php program lately? and has anyone come from out of state?
I was here September 2021-January 2022 5/5 stars .This is a good place, groups are helpful,I didn’t like my therapist Dr.L,or the one staff member they had for meals ,but I loved my dietitian, and the people there .They are strict with making sure you eat ,if you refuse three times (over all not in like a week or a day) then they send you to the hospital . You have to be relatively motivated to do this program ,but they’ll work with you as long as you’re trying .Only complaint would be my therapist who yelled(raised her voice while upset) at me and my friend because she made a comment on not liking goals group,as well not having any goals and I talked to her about how inpatient isn’t as scary as it seems, (so therefore I’m promoting it).So because of this we were called into her office and told that if we didn’t want recover we should leave it out of group.We both were trying very hard to recover so this made me very angry.Especially since she made my friend cry.So after that I had an individual session where I told her to basically f*ck off and never talk to my friend like that again or I would file a complaint
I went from November of 2020 for 6 weeks. Then for middle of April till beginning of July 2020. Then I saw my team till November 2021. Then I was drop due to age limit being lowered from 30- 25. I had a great experience with the program. My medical doctor was great. My dietitian was AMAZING!! I wish I could still see her. My therapist in the program was great as well! The only problem I had was finding care after the program drop me. I couldn’t see any of the dietitian because 1: I had an eating disorder. 2: they wouldn’t except my insurance. Even after I call my insurance i was emailed a list that was outdated and back to issue 1. There isn’t a lot of specialist that work with eating disorders in my area. If you are younger and have an eating disorder go to them for treatment! The schedule is still the same in the comments. Hope this helpful!
I’m confused, is this a children’s hospital? Do they accept non-young adults? Which levels of care take adults with Medicare? If they have adult IP, can you have your phone? Do they have housing for PHP?
Any recent reviews on the Hershey ED program in PA?
When were you there: i was in both the children and adult program; child from dec 2017-feb 2018, adult aug 2017-nov 2017
How many patients on average? in both between 3-10
Does it treat both males and females? If so, is treatment separate or combined. yes, it is combined
How often do you see a medical doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist (therapist), nutritionist, etc? each once a week
What is the staff ratio to patients? 3-4:1ish? im not entirely sure
What sort of therapies are used? dbt, cbt, there are more but i cant remember
Describe the average day: child program: its in the morning so it starts at 7. breakfast 7-8, the groups. lunch 11-12, then another group, then school until 3.
adult: program starts at 12:30, lunch is 12:30-1:30, then groups until 5. dinner 5-6, then another group.
snacks are incorporated in both programs as needed
What were meals like? the program is done in two small rooms, one is a kitchen/dining room. breakfast (child program only) is stuff like cereal, yogurt, bagels, toast, and fruit. lunches are (for both programs) usually a sandwich with sides. dinner (only adult program) is held at the hospital cafeteria across the street, and they have literally anything you can imagine. the meals are supervised by one or two nurses, and they try to engage us in conversation. in child’s breakfast, each person brings a parent. lunches can be pretty quiet, but breakfast and dinner are ok.
Did they supplement? How did that system work? yes, they supplemented if you chose that as a side if you’re on weight gain (but they had other choices) and if you didnt finish your meal. everyone finishes though, i literally cant remember a time when they had to use supps for not completing
Are you able to be a vegetarian? yes, and vegan in the adult program too. you need to prove it’s for the right reasons though
What privelages are allowed? pretty much everything since it’s php/iop. kids aren’t allowed to have phones but adults are. you can take walks and leave the building on breaks between groups too.
Does it work on a level system? no
What sort of groups do they have? lots of nutrition, cbt, dbt, relapse prevention, motivation, meal planning, cooking, etc
What was your favorite group? probably meal planning group. in the adult program you can choose all your meals and the nutritionist, ashley, is really great and helpful.
What did you like the most? the program is great with accomodating your needs and your meal plan. both times i came from an inpatient program, and i had vastly different meal plans both times because i came from two different programs and i had to gain a lot of weight the second time. both times they were really helpful. they’re also very real with you and don’t sugar coat anything. the nutritionist in the adult program, ashley, is absolutely fantastic and i love her with my heart. both the child program nutritionists are harsher and more real which is i guess what many of us need, but i didn’t really like them haha. they also provide optional outings after program to target, wegmans, and other stores even though it’s not set in the program times.
What did you like the least? tbh i relapsed after leaving both times and i’ll be going back again soon but i wouldn’t say it’s their fault. one big thing i had a problem with though is when i was in the adult program, the therapist i had was very insistent on me gaining more weight even though me, my medical doctor, and my parents all agreed on one lower. in the end he had me gain over 10lbs higher than the one we had agreed on, but i was able to lose the weight in program. keep in mind that your therapist pretty much controls everything here- your meal plan, your goal weight, all that jazz. they have final say over most things
Would you recommend this program? yes
What level of activity or exercise was allowed? it depends on your situation, but they were heavy on compensation if you weren’t allowed to (meaning if you were on weight gain, they would make you have a 200+ calorie snack for doing something that certainly didn’t burn that much, like walking around a mall)
Do you get to know your weight? your therapist has control over that but if you ask them they’ll typically let you
What was the average length of stay? it can depend. i was in the child php for about 2 months but the adult php/iop for 4 months.
What was the average age range? 8-16 for child, 16-30ish for adult
What kind of aftercare do they provide? Do they help you set up an OP treatment team? yes, although they push you to use them as an outpatient team. they will provide you with other therapists, nutritionists, and psychiatrists if you ask though
Are there any resources for people who come from out of state/country? yes!! one thing that’s really nice is that there is a ronald mcdonald house about a mile away from the program with a bus that will bring you over. they have free rooms and meals which are portioned for you, and if you’re in the child program your parents can stay there for as long as they need
interested in more info on the adult ip program
Average Day:
12:30-1:30- Lunch is served in the kitchen / dining area. People trickle in and are expected to finish by the end of the hour.
1:30-2:30 – M: Art Therapy, Tues: Group Wed: Music Therapy Thurs: Group
Fridays (1-2) is Weekend Planning
2:45-3:45: Either groups with therapists, or Yoga on Thursdays
4:00-5:00- Nutrition, or Journaling, another group essentially
5:00 We take the shuttle to the Hospital Cafeteria, and Have Dinner there
6:00-7:00 – Goals Group, Task Group, Family Group (Tuesdays), Leisure/Distraction, Pet Therapy
~Go Home at 7~
Fridays are from 10-2, and we prepare a challenge snack or item to eat with lunch.
What sorts of food?
Lunch: Is limited because it is in the office suite where program is. Feels a bit lie kindergarten lunch, very sandwich -oriented.
Turkey/Cheese, Ham/Cheese, Chicken or Tuna Salad, Cheese Sandwich, Uncrustables
Sides: Apples, Oranges, Pears, Graham Crackers, Pretzels, Veggies w/ Ranch or Peanut Butter, Yogurt, etc.
Beverages: Apple, Orange, cranberry juice, 2% Milk or Chocolate, Lactaid, Ensure + if prescribed.
For Dinner in the Caf:
Changing feature each night (Sometimes indian food, or asian or Italian Pastas, etc). Sauteed vegetables, grains, things like that.
Deli section with MTO Wraps, or pre made paninis and sandwiches and salads.
Sushi with considerable options, Soup bar, Stone-fired pizzas,
Chicken sandwiches, black bean burgers, veggie burgers, etc at the Grill
For Sides: Fruit, Luna or Protein bars, pretzels, yogurts, side salads, candy/snack items, frozen yogurt, baked goods, etc.
Drinks: All types of juices, decaf sodas (Gingerale), Soymilk, 2% or Lactaid
What were meals like?
Meals are pretty laid back, depending on the group at the time. Always staff members present at the meal. During Dinner they usually get something too and eat their meal with us, which is nice.
Usually there is good conversation, but occasionally we will resort to table games or picking a topic.
You are expected to complete 100% of your meal at all times. Also you cannot cut your food into a million pieces or abuse salt/mustard/condiments inappropriately. No Diet items whatsoever (This includes nonfat yogurts, skim milk, gatorade, watered down beverages, baked chips, etc.)
What privelages are allowed?
It’s not inpatient, so you of course have access to your phone and personal items. There are breaks at 2:30 and 3:45 to go outside and get some fresh air or use the restroom. You can also knit or crochet or what have you.
Does it work on a level system? No
What sort of groups do they have?
Body image, ACT, CBT groups, DBT, journaling, art music and yoga, pet therapy, and leisure /random groups to distract after dinner. Also week in review, weekend planning, and food prep on Fridays
What did you like the most?
Excellent and experienced staff. They are compassionate and will fight for your recovery. There is also a lot of freedom so you don’t feel chained down by rules.
What did you like the least?
Lunch does not have very much variety in the way of mains or sides. Or even drinks. But this is pretty minor. The only other thing is sometimes they accept people in partial who should CLEARLY be in a hospital setting, so it can be pretty challenging to not compare yourself to other patients
Would you recommend this program?
Yes..if you are MOTIVATED. there is so much room to manipulate and do what your ed wants you to do, and not get better. Dont go here if youre only going to waste your time and the staffs.
What was the average age range?
for the adult progam, i have seen 16 year olds and people well into their 50s.
Do you know your weight?
You can decide with your team if you want to do blind weights or not. They recommend blind if you are on weight gain especially, but ultimately they treat you as an adult and it is your choice.
When were you there: I was there in April of 2012 until July of 2012 and then again in October of 2012 for a couple months.
How many patients on average? It really depends. There were times when it was just me and one or two other girls, but sometimes it got very full. I don’t think there were ever more than 15-18 girls however.
Does it treat both males and females? If so, is treatment separate or combined? It does treat both females and males. My experience, was that all of the boys that came in were very young (8 or under) and had EDNOS.
How often do you see a medical doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist (therapist), nutritionist, etc? In the beginning of your stay, you really don’t see a therapist very often. They told me that this is because (some people) come in very malnourished and food is the main therapy before talk therapy. You see your medical doctor, nutritionist, and psychiatrist every week. Some weeks I saw my nutritionist more than once if there was going to be a change in my meal plan. I saw my therapist 1-2 times a week once they said my mind was “nourished” enough for talk therapy.
What is the staff ratio to patients? There are two main staff who are with the group every day. There are two therapists, two nutritionists, three medical doctors (one for adult area, one for adolescents), and two psychiatrists (one for adult and one for adolescents).
What sort of therapies are used? (DBT, CBT, EMDR) etc? It is all CBT based therapy.
Describe the average day: Breakfast is at 7:00 am every morning. Parents come to breakfast. Then it’s groups (art, music, expressive, etc). There is a snack at 9:00 and then lunch at 11:00. School is from 1-3 I believe.
What were meals like? The program has a kitchen room, where mostly everything occurs there. It is one large table and everyone sits together. There is a challenge food every day. Challenge breakfast on friday, they go to the hospital cafeteria on thursday, baking challenge, pizza, subs, those kinds of things.
What sorts of food were available or served? The program gets the food from the hospital. They had lots of “snack” food so chips, oreos, fruits, yogurt. They serve a lot of sandwiches and do accommodate vegetarians.
Did they supplement? How did that system work? Yes. If you did not finish 100% of your meal, you were asked to have a supplement which was an Ensure Plus.
What is the policy of not complying with meals? They will not force you to eat at this program. If you refuse to eat the meals or supplements, they will eventually send you to an inpatient (brandywine is the one they use most often) where you will be fed by a tube,
Are you able to be a vegetarian? Yes.
What privelages are allowed? This program is a partial day program, so you have a lot of privileges. You are not “locked up” and get to go home everyday. I stayed at the Ronal McDonald house since I lived two hours away, but that was a very nice place to stay as well.
Does it work on a level system? Nope. But as you progress in the program, you will not have to be there every day of the week. People start transitioning back into school or regular life.
How do you earn privileges? You have all privileges here. You are taken to the bathroom in groups and are supervised during that and meals, but there aren’t many restrictions.
What sort of groups do they have? Had a LOT of art therapy, they also did music therapy. The most common group was just sitting around with the other patients, everyone working on an art project, and just talking.
What was your favorite group? I liked some of the art groups, but found them to be very repetitive after a while.
What did you like the most? The staff is very well educated and it is clear that they know what to do with eating disorder patients.
What did you like the least? This program essentially gave up on me. I was there the longest out of anyone, and was classified as a very difficult case. I didn’t have my head 100% (or even really 50%) into recovery- and the staff just said that there was nothing they could do for me anymore.
Would you recommend this program? Yes and no. I think that the staff here are great, and I met a lot of great girls in this program. I did the adolescent group first at 14 and then at 15. Now, being almost 17, I would go to the adult group. I found the adolescent group to be mostly younger kids. Like 10-12, and had trouble relating with a lot of the people there. I would recommend this program to younger girls (10-13) and if they want to get better from their eating disorder. The staff is very willing to help people on the road to recovery, but only if they want it.
What level of activity or exercise was allowed? It depends on your weight and health status. I went there very malnourished and was not allowed to exercise at all.
What did people do on weekends? The program is from monday-friday, so everyone is at home on weekends.
Do you get to know your weight? No. They will look at your weight history, and determine where your weight would naturally be. They will then set a goal weight for you, and then a goal range. They will tell you if you’re in your healthy range.
How fast is the weight gain process? Pretty slow. It seemed to be about a pound to two pounds a week.
What was the average length of stay? I was there 17 weeks, which was the longest anyone had ever been there. It seemed to me that most girls were there for about 2-3 months.
What was the average age range? This program seems to be mostly for younger girls. I was the oldest person there both times I was there, and found that very difficult. It seemed like the range was typically 8-11.
What kind of aftercare do they provide? Do they help you set up an OP treatment team? Yes. The Hershey partial program also offers IOP and OP there. They can also set up a treatment team for you in your home area if you are commuting to this treatment place.
Any recent reviews for the adult partial/day program ?!
Old Reviews
My daughter was in the “Day Partial Program” in late 2010 and early 2011. This is an outpatient program for 8 to 15 year-olds that runs 5 days per week.
Breakfast and lunch are part of the program; dinner is not included. They are located in an office building off the hospital campus. They only have a small kitchen, so only basic meals (cereals, bagels, yogurt, sandwiches, etc) are provided. One day per week, lunch is at the hospital cafeteria, which allows the patients to eat other foods, like cheeseburgers.
They start at 7 AM with breakfast for the patient and one or both parents (parents must bring their own breakfast). 8 AM – 11 AM is school. The school teacher is great, and they also have tutors from Penn State. 11 – 12 is lunch.
Monday – Thursday, 12 – 3 PM is therapy groups. They have groups like art, yoga, discussion groups, etc. The program ends at 3 PM Mon-Thurs.
Friday 12 – 1 PM is weekend meal planning, and at least one parent is expected to attend. The program ends at 1 PM on Fridays.
The patient and the parent(s) meet with a psychiatrist once per week and a pediatrician once per week. These two doctors bill separately from the program’s charges, so that might represent an additional out-of-pocket cost, depending on your insurance plan.
The patient and parent(s) also meet with a psychologist and a nutritionist at least once per week, and frequently more often, as needed. Their services are billed as part of the program’s normal charges.
There can be a dozen or so patients in the program, almost all of them are girls. The patients spend most of their time in one small-ish room with about 6 tables. They go to various offices for doctor visits and some groups.
The program is pretty good and can be helpful if the patient cooperates. Unfortunately, my daughter fought them for the first several weeks and only complied at the absolute minimum level. Other patients entered the program, cooperated, got better and left while my daughter was still there. We eventually gave up and placed her in an inpatient program at Princeton.
Inpatient at Hershey means going to a general psychiatric ward at the Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute. In my opinion, this is to be avoided for young children, unless you desire a “scared straight” experience.
Patients and their families can stay for free at the Ronald McDonald House, which is about 1/4 mile away. The folks at the Ronald McDonald house are great, and they have various volunteer groups cooking a free dinner every night.
Dates Attended: Summer 2008, January 2009
Average Day:
-PARTIAL PROGRAM BEGINS @ 12:30-1:30-Lunch; 1:30-2:30-group; 2:30-2:45-break + snack (mandatory for some, optional for others); 2:45-3:45- another group; 3:45-4:00- Break
-IOP PPL COME AND JOIN IN WITH PARTIAL IN GROUP: 4:00-group; 4:50-5:00- break + board bus to go across street to hospital cafeteria; 5:15-6:05- dinner; 6:00- 7:00- after-meal group
What were meals like?
Lunch: some-type of sandwich w/ whole-grain bread, sides based upon MP (generally 2-3, less on first week and build up if necessary), plus 4-8oz. of a drink (100% fruit juice, 2% milk, or chocolate milk). Every Tuesday, there are themed lunches (ex. brown bag), which aren’t too bag and actually enjoyedable for variety.
Dinner- go to PS Hershey Hospital cafeteria and pick out your main (carb+ protein combo), # of sides needed, and 4-8oz. of a non-diet/watered down drink. 1 meal a night is designated “challenge night”, but you can pick what you need to challenge yourself with.
What sorts of food?
Lunch:
-Sandwiches: turkey & cheese, ham & cheese, tuna salad, egg salad, Smuckers Uncrustable PB & J
-Sides- stuff like apples, oranges, yogurt, celery w/ PB, carrots and dip, salad w/ 1 tbsp. dressing, 2 oreo cookies, 1 pudding, 1 bag pretzels, 1 bag chips, 1 bag cheese curls, 1/2 c. diced peaches…
-Drink Options: 4-8oz. 100% apple, orange, grape juice; 4-8oz. 10% fruit punch, 8oz. 2% milk, 8oz. 1% chocolate milk
Supper
-hot entree and sides
-salad bar
-baked potato bars on Monday usually/ taco bars Tues/ pasta bar Thursday/ Wing bar on Fri?… sometimes a Bread, cheese, and fruit bar?
– pizza, burgers, grilled or fried chicken sandwiches, chicken fingers, fries, onion rings
– yogurt, apples, oranges, bananas, pears, nuts
-ice cream, candy, pudding, frozen yogurt, etc.
There are a lot of options—so you really get freedom, which is good training for the “real world”.
What were meals like?- no talking about anything ED-related, it was cool b/c you got to learn who ppl were outside of the ED, generally non-stressful, under staff supervision, but the staff are friendly and they talked with us
Did they supplement? How did that system work? If you finished less than 50% of meal, you recieved 2 supplements. If you finished over half of your meal but didn’t finish it all, you got 1 supplement. I know some ppl were on mandatory supplements if they needed to be on weight gain, but others werent.
What privelages are allowed? Um.. I don’t knowww? You were allowed bathroom breaks and pretty much allowed to do w/e you wanted on breaks except go to the Turkey Hill next door
Does it work on a level system? No
What sort of groups do they have?
-DAY: nutrition, body-image, self-esteem, art therapy, music therapy, yoga, food prep., etc.
-IOP+ DAY: journaling, family, goals, nutrition, general groups, etc.
What was your favorite group? sekf-esteem and body image because they were with M. Keener! She is such a sweetheart!!!
What did you like the most? the staff was very very very friendly if you were willing to put the work in (which I experienced when I was in a great place in Summer 09) and they didn’t BS when you were in a bad state of mind and recommended higher levels of care like IP/residential (which I experienced in Jan 09)
What did you like the least? Not sure. Whatever I “didn’t like” was probably due to distorted thinking, so I will refrain
Would you recommend this program? Yes, but you have to have some motivation inside of you to make it work! It’s NORMAL to have some ambivalence…but you definitely have to want recovery to a degree to make it work
What was the average age range? seriously, I’ve seen women and men from 14 to their 50s/60s in this program. Don’t let age/gender deter you away!
What kind of aftercare do they provide? Do they help you set up an OP treatment team? They help you set up nutritionists and therapists, but its your responsibility to do so, ultimately, which is fair.
———————-
Hmm… some of the older posts honestly make me a bit uneasy. I just want to clarify that Hershey is a VERY WELL PUT TOGETHER PROGRAM.
I was there three separate times, and everytime, they adequately assessed my situation (which was different at each stay) and gave different recommendations accordingly. I would say that every staff member there has THOROUGH knowledge of EDs, highly experienced, very compassionate and sensitive towards your feelings, and they always have open-minds on suggestions to improve their program, if you would have any….yet, what I found a lot of people “not liking” in program was when the staff actually CHALLENGED THEIR EATING DISORDER MINDSET…which is a huge component of getting to recoverED, and I guess some people just weren’t ready for that yet.
I honestly do not think that this program was “lacking” at all. Honestly, you get what you put into it. If you go into it with a degree of willingness to recover, the staff is MORE THAN HAPPY to work WITH you to REACH RECOVERY. Yes, they will challenge your distorted thinking, and you may dislike it at first…but you will appreciate it so much more in the end. They will push you to do some uncomfortable things, but, eventually, you will be ABLE to do those “uncomfortable previously forbidden things” and think “Geez. Why was I EVER scared of THAT?!?!” You have the chance to connect with other individuals who are going through the same thing. Some group dynamics may be different than others, but you have the power to choose who you want to put your focus on. Do you want to focus on the one person that is adamantly refusing recovery or do you want to focus on the other few people who are persisting to maintain progression forwards? Do you want to be the follower of the group of people who say, “I can’t do recovery. It is SO hard.” throughout the whole program… or do you want to be the person who is able to give others HOPE a few days saying…”Hey, I think recovery is possible, for me and for all of us! I accomplished XXX step today!” A large part of the program is NOT the structure, it is NOT the staff, it is NOT the other people…. It is YOU and what YOU CHOOSE TO MAKE OF IT. You can have the “best program in the world” (whatever that even would be?) and be completely unwilling…yet, that would be useless, ya know? I just want to let people seeking treatment out that SO MUCH OF IT IS WHAT YOU MAKE OF IT… The effort, risk, and challenge put forth will be the advantage gained.
Anyway, I just wanted to put a little more positivity into this thread…because I think that this program honestly can DO wonders. It is largely the reason WHY I am still fully persisting at recovery today (and WILL reach recoverED) …and it is why I know SEVERAL PEOPLE who ARE recoverED due to this program. That speaks for itself.
God bless all of you seeking help Please don’t be afraid to take the first step and reach out… It’s the scariest thing…but it’s the most rewarding in the end… ♥ ♥