Two-day eating disorder core training set for Caribou

Cary Medical Center in partnership with Mainely Girls and the Davis Family Foundation will sponsor a two-day training program for health care professionals focusing on eating disorders. The program will be held Oct. 2 and 3 at the Caribou Inn and Convention Center. The program has been made possible by a grant awarded to Cary Medical Center by the Davis Family Foundation.
Bill Flagg, director of community relations and development for Cary Medical Center said that the program will feature outstanding faculty.
“We are so fortunate to have recruited some of the nation’s top specialists on the issue of eating disorders to present at this dynamic two-day core training,” said Flagg, who wrote the grant to bring the program to Caribou. “We will be able to do two full days of training and we will host a ‘Grand Rounds’ dinner presentation for physicians as well.”
Marci Anderson, MS, RD, is a registered dietitian, an ACSM certified personal trainer and owner of Marci RD Nutrition Consulting. Emily K. Gray, M.D. is on the faculty of Harvard Medical School and a staff psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Valerie Gurney is a licensed clinical psychologist who has treated individuals with eating disorders for 15 years.
Mary Orear, who is coordinating the conference, is the founder/director of Mainely Girls, the project director for Maine’s Eating Disorders Learning Collaborative, and founding member and current board member of the Eating Disorders Association of Maine.
The training program came about as the result of a meeting that was held at Cary Medical Center in the fall of 2013 focusing on resources for individuals diagnosed with eating disorders. Mainely Girls Director Orear coordinated the meeting attended by a number of health care professionals including counselors, physicians, mental health workers and school guidance personnel. Flagg said that the health care professionals cited a great need for training on eating disorders and that national programs were out of reach.
“The cost of traveling to a national program for two days of training including travel, missed work, hotels, food and the registration costs were just not workable for most of these local programs,” said Flagg. “I suggested that they bring the training to The County and thanks to a grant from the Davis Family Foundation we have been able to make this happen.”
Orear, who has brought the program faculty together and who is coordinating the training opportunity, said that the overall goal of the project is to create a statewide network of trained eating disorders treatment professionals, who provide integrated care to effectively meet the needs of patients with eating disorders, including early identification and out-patient services in conjunction with more intensive treatment when necessary and consultation and support for other providers who care for these patients.
“As a very rural state without a residential eating disorders program, Maine faces significant challenges when providing specialized health care in the treatment of eating disorders,” said Orear. “The great majority of people with eating disorders are never hospitalized, nor do they attend a residential program, but many require treatment in their communities for months or even years”.
Health care professionals from throughout the state with a focus on rural Maine counties have been invited to the two-day conference. Flagg said that he was grateful for the support of the Davis Family Foundation that has made the conference possible.
“Without the grant support this project would never have come to Aroostook County,” said Flagg. “The Davis Family Foundation has been very supportive of our efforts here and we so much appreciate their help in advancing access to patients with eating disorders here in northern Maine.”
There will be a $125 charge for the two full days of training. The fee includes all materials and lunches for both days. For more information contact Flagg at Cary Medical Center at 498-1376 or bflagg@carymed.org.