Admission Process: Eating Disorders Program

Intake

Individuals can be admitted to any program within Walden's Eating Disorders continuum of care, including:

• Inpatient treatment
• Residential care
• Partial hospitalization
• Intensive outpatient care

Whatever the level of care you are seeking, the process begins with an intake of information over the telephone.

The intake coordinator will collect demographic, insurance and clinical information, including past medical and psychiatric histories, current treatment and medications, previous treatments, family history, support systems and important telephone numbers, including emergency contact and outpatient providers. The more information you or your family member provide during the intake process, the clearer the assessment of your needs will be.

After the initial intake assessment, the admissions staff will schedule a clinical evaluation with Walden's clinician team for you or your family member at the admissions office located at 20 Hope Avenue, Suite 314, Waltham, MA. We ask that you bring your insurance card, a license or another acceptable form of identification with you to your evaluation.

In most situations, you will be required to obtain laboratory tests no sooner than 24 hours before arriving at Walden for your clinical evaluation. Please have the laboratory fax the test results to 781-647-6752. In some cases, we may also request that you obtain medical clearance from either your primary care physician or local emergency room to ensure that your medical conditions will be resolved before arriving at Walden for your clinical evaluation.

A referral from your provider is not required. However, we will maintain communication with outpatient providers during the admission process and throughout your stay at Walden.

Clinical Evaluation

The clinical evaluation process typically takes 60 to 90 minutes. However, the entire process may take as long as five hours, depending on how quickly we receive lab results and a response from your insurance company.

The evaluation includes:

• Initial review of all intake information
• A level-of-care assessment with a social worker or nurse
• A psychiatric assessment
• An in-depth review of clinical information, including laboratory results and the clinical evaluation.

Based on the results, a determination will be made as to the appropriate level of care. The admission clinician will call the insurance company for approval of the recommended level of care for you. The clinician will advise the family of the team's recommendation and the status of insurance approval.