PORTLAND, OR – March 22, 2016 – Pediatric eating disorder treatment facility Kartini Clinic today announced a significant expansion to its unique evidence-based approach to food and re-feeding, expanding their formal meal planning program and establishing a partnership with grocer New Seasons to provide patients and their families with fresh food, according to Kartini Clinic CEO Morgan O’Toole.
“Prompt and adequate weight restoration - the medical process of re-feeding - is in fact the front line treatment for anorexia nervosa,” O’Toole said. That makes food among our most important medicines, and structured meal planning critical to good clinical outcomes.”
The science of re-feeding and restoring patients to health is outlined in the second edition of Give Food a Chance, by Kartini Clinic’s founder and Chief Medical Officer Julie O’Toole MD. The new edition for 2016 has been revised and reprinted with new content on the proven genetic and neurobiological contributions to anorexia nervosa.
Give Food a Chance also outlines Kartini’s groundbreaking meal plan, which stresses the importance of structured eating; the health benefits of growing one’s own food; and the need to prepare and eat meals together as a family, which Dr. O’Toole describes as critical elements to both early detection of eating disorders and of effective treatment.
“Family meals actually have a specific clinical role,” Morgan O’Toole added. “They enable parents to put eyes on what their children are and aren’t eating, which provides an opportunity to identify early warning signs. It’s really the only primary prevention tool we have right now.”
Dr. O’Toole’s book describes the foundational science behind Kartini Clinic’s treatment protocol, which demonstrates that childhood eating disorders have a neurological, rather than a psychosocial basis; and that biological processes, rather than an individual’s environment, are the primary causes of these devastating illnesses.
Additionally, the clinic has partnered with locally founded grocery chain New Seasons Markets to bring high quality, locally sourced and organic food to its North Portland treatment facility. Kartini’s partnership with New Seasons gives the clinic an entirely local supply chain, especially since New Seasons invested heavily in a historically underserved neighborhood when it established a second North Portland store on Williams Avenue, now the clinic’s main source of fresh foods.
“Our partnership with Kartini Clinic is a wonderful example of the magic that happens when two neighboring businesses find creative ways to support each other,” New Seasons community coordinator Jennifer Gregorich said. “We bring sustainable agriculture and food products to our neighbors, offering the best quality, taste and value, while making it easy for a business like Kartini to source the ingredients needed to create the healthy dishes served in its treatment program.”
The partnership also seeks to address another problem. On a larger scale, quality, fresh ingredients have not yet made their way into hospital food services and mainstream eating disorder clinics nationwide, Morgan O’Toole said.
“The sad, deeply ironic fact is that many healthcare facilities – including most of the eating disorder facilities I've visited – utilize institutional food vendors,” O’Toole said. “Some have made steps to reform their cafeterias and in-room meal offerings – mostly by banning certain fried foods – but we stand virtually alone in terms of emphasizing the quality of all of our food and the metabolic science behind re-feeding. It’s much more than just focusing on the portions of what we serve to our patients.”
About Kartini Clinic
Kartini Clinic is an internationally recognized pediatric eating disorder treatment program. Since 1998 the clinic has treated more than 3,000 children and young adults with all forms of disordered eating. Using an evidence-based, medical approach to the treatment of eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and food phobia, as well as those whose disordered eating contributes to unwanted weight gain, Kartini Clinic's multidisciplinary staff of pediatricians and licensed psychotherapists is one of the most experienced in the country. Kartini treats patients from all over the state and all walks of life, and works closely with several regional coordinated care organizations (CCOs) to address the needs of underserved Medicaid populations.
A family-owned business, Dr. Julie O’Toole’s son, Morgan O’Toole, serves as Kartini Clinic’s CEO. Her daughter, Sheila Scrobogna, serves as the clinic’s Director of Human Resources.
