• When were you there?

December 2022 and April 2023

• What level(s) of care did you do (e.g., inpatient, residential, PHP, IOP)?

Adult PHP. They only offer PHP and IOP for adults and adolescents here. I think they might do individual therapy too, but I’m not exactly sure.

• If applicable: Is it wheelchair accessible?

I believe so. There’s an elevator to the second floor. Everything takes place on that floor.

• How many patients are there on average?

I would say there’s typically 10 or so people in your group.

• Does it treat both males and females? If so, is treatment separate or combined?

Yes, everyone’s combined and both times I’ve been there, there’s been a few other males.

• If applicable: Do they support the gender identities of transgender and nonbinary people?

Very, very supportive of trans and GNC individuals. They will list your pronouns / have everyone introduce themselves with their pronouns, and are great about using your preferred named.

• How often do you see a medical doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist (therapist), nutritionist, etc?

You see your therapist and your dietitian daily. Medical doctor is as needed, and I think psychiatrist is twice a week? Though you can request to see someone from your team whenever.

• What is the staff-to-patient ratio?

Usually 2-3 during groups, and about the same during meal times. Though it can change depending on if your group is larger.

• What sort of therapies are used (e.g., DBT, CBT, EMDR, etc.)?

They implement CBT / DBT tactics, but it’s nothing too in depth. They use a lot of mindfulness. There’s also art therapy.

Describe the average day:
Program starts at 9AM and ends at 3PM. It’s like your average PHP. Vitals and weights first thing, then breakfast, a group after, break, group, break, lunch, group, snack, finish group. You get pulled throughout the day and usually end up missing a chunk of the groups.

• What were meals like?

You have a few facilitators at the table with you during meal times. You get about 30? minutes or so to finish before they start checking. All meals are self select / self plated, with the exception of a menu at lunch at make things easier. Your plates will be checked over to make sure you plated the correct amount of things. People usually try to play a game or talk during lunch to make it easier. You can also use your phone during meal times.

There’s a five minute reflecting period where you’re expected to eat in silence and be mindful of your meal.

• What sorts of food were available or served?

Breakfast consists of all your common breakfast foods: eggs, fruits, yogurt, pancakes / waffles, cereal, bagel and cream cheese or nutella, toast.

For lunch, things on the menu are like chicken tenders, wraps, rice. They have meat alternatives you can heat up as well, like black bean patties.

Snacks are things like veggies with peanut butter, donuts, rice krispy bars, gummies, ice cream sandwiches, fruit leathers, cheese.

You can request any food you might want to be ordered during grocery day, which is Wednesday. They also sometimes have pizza or you might cook a meal together, like pasta.

• Did they supplement? How did that system work?

Yes. I’m not sure the % they’ll supplement at, but if you still haven’t finish say, one or two exchanges, then you get an Ensure. And that’s what you supplement with. You can pick your flavor. You’re expected to drink it all. They will check, but they don’t force you either.

• What is the policy of not complying with meals?

If you’re constantly refusing, they’ll most likely discharge you or refer you to a HLOC. After lunch, they will go around asking how you’re doing and if you need any meal support, so they try to work with you if you’re having a bad intake day.

• Are you able to eat vegetarian?

Vegetarian, yes. Not entirely sure about vegan though.

• What sort of groups do they have?

Groups talking about general topics like nutrition, breaking down the food groups, diet culture, how to handle stress / anxiety, ACCEPTS. You’ll usually cook once a week or so and sometimes play a game while waiting for the food to cook. They also have yoga, but not sure how often that is. Art therapy for us was making collages, usually with an ED related topic.

• What was your favorite group?

I liked the nutrition class and breaking down each food group.

• What did you like the most?

All the staff that work here are incredibly friendly and truly seem like they want to help you. They’re not judgmental and don’t body shame. People are here not just for AN but for every type of eating disorder. Meal support is pretty nice. If you don’t plate enough in the kitchen, they don’t scold you but instead offer suggestions as to what you could get. If you’re really struggling, they’ll walk around the kitchen with you and help you select something. Having good staff makes or breaks a program.

• What did you like the least?

At least in my case, it’s very hard to get insurance to cover this place, and overall, it’s very much a bandaid solution. It’s one of the only, if not currently the only, option for Medicaid. Huron Oaks used to have an adult PHP with an ED track, but I think it’s only adolescent now for the ED services.

But being in Michigan where there’s hardly any treatment options, this is probably one of the best places you can go for PHP, unless you can get into Huron Oak’s adolescent program or Sanford. You start out with 5 days being covered automatically, regardless of how much you might be struggling, and they’ll work with your insurance from there. They recommend 15-30, but that typically doesn’t happen. I don’t think I can even get ten days covered here. Five days is not long enough to help anyone, especially with weight restoration. I feel like the most helpful thing I took from here was a meal plan.

Also, if you’re really struggling with behaviors, this program will be very challenging because of their self select style. The first time I came here, I had major anxiety being thrown to the wolves. You need to be in a very recovery orientated mindset to get anything out of this short stay.

• Would you recommend this program?

Yes and no. Definitely not the best program I’ve been to. The most helpful one I’ve done was Huron Oaks (adolescent, the adult program was awful). If you have no better options or need something while you’re in between care, then go for it. If your insurance will actually cover the whole 15-30 days, absolutely do it. I’ve only come back here multiple times because I’m struggling to find any HLOC and this is my only option really. They’ll get you in pretty quick, that is a plus. If you need something ASAP, it is helpful.

• What level of activity or exercise was allowed?

Yoga during group, but they really don’t want you exercising outside of the program.

• What did people do on weekends?

The program is Monday to Friday, so weekends are spent at home. Sometimes they send you home with food challenges to do over the weekends.

• Do you get to know your weight?

No. You’re weighed clothed, so another reason this program is meh. Also, there’s a weight minimum for the program. They will work with you depending on medical clearance and severity of behaviors, but they’ll tell you what % they’d ideally want you to be at.

• How fast is the weight gain process?

Not sure, but they probably want 1-2lbs weekly.

• What was the average length of stay?

Again in my case, it’s five days. Not sure about other people though.

• What was the average age range?

It’s 18+, but most people I’d say are early to mid twenties. Though you have the occasional 19 or 30 year old.

• What is the electronics policy (e.g., cell phones, iPods, Kindles, laptops, tablets)?

You have your phone during the day and can use it throughout group. They don’t lock anything up.

• For PHP/IOP: What support do they provide outside of programming hours?

Honestly, not really anything. You have your meal plan and they encourage you to practice your coping skills.

• What kind of aftercare do they provide? Do they help you set up an outpatient treatment team?

Yes, they’ll help you find someone that will take your insurance. They can help with both step up or step down treatment. They’ll also coordinate with your PCP.

• Are there any resources for people who come from out of state/country?

I’m not sure about out of state, but they do offer transportation if you’re within 30 or so minutes of the location.

• If applicable: How is the program responding to COVID? (Less patients, virtual programming, no visitors, masks, social distancing, etc)

Masks are completely optional, but some staff and patients do still wear them. It’s up to you, no one will make mean remarks if you do choose to wear a mask.

• Other?

I think there’s some really great benefits of this program. I just wish Michigan had better ED care to begin with, and that our insurance didn’t see ED treatment as an afterthought. It’s so incredibly hard to get ED specific help in this state if you have government insurance.

If anyone has any other questions about this program, I’d be happy to answer!