Healthy Support

Accolade Taps Equip for Eating Disorder Support

Eating disorders affect nearly one in 10 Americans and have the second-highest mortality rate of all mental health disorders after opioid addiction. A new partnership aims to bring additional support to patients struggling with eating disorders.

Integrated healthcare delivery and navigation company Accolade announced last week that it is working with Equip, a virtual provider of eating disorder support. Seattle, Washington-based Accolade serves employers, health plans and consumers through virtual primary care and mental health, expert medical opinions and care navigation. Equip, based in San Diego, California, virtually treats eating disorders by connecting patients with a five-person care team: a medical physician, dietician, therapist, peer mentor and family mentor. It works with most major health plans and cares for patients ages 6 to 24 in all 50 states.

Accolade added Equip to its Trusted Partner Ecosystem, a collection of health vendors vetted by Accolade that its customers can decide

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Healthy Support

Finding help when eating becomes a battle

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The behavioral health specialists at Kern Behavioral Health and Recovery Services say that eating disorders are among the deadliest mental illnesses, second only to opioid addiction. With the number of people who struggle with disordered eating on the rise, KBHRS is encouraging people who need help to not be afraid to reach out.

Kern BHRS Supervisor Felicia Alcaraz says they primarily see young people, but that eating disorders can affect anyone of any age, gender, or body type.

“It looks different for everyone. For some, it could be whether it’s increased dieting, or for some it could be overly eating. It can be watching your weight to an extent that you’re hyperfocused on that diet, on what you’re eating and the calories you’re consuming,” said Alcaraz. “There is finding that healthy balance to keep you healthy and well, but then there’s that extremity on the other

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Healthy Body

Feeling lonely: An epidemic of isolation has expanded area mental health needs

Greensburg resident John Herrmann has a suppertime appointment each Thursday at the city’s Otterbein United Methodist Church.

Helping to hand out meals to those in need during the weekly Feeding the Spirit program there helps him in his ongoing efforts to form and maintain positive connections in the community.

Herrmann, 66, said that when he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder more than three decades ago, it made him feel isolated from others.

“I thought I was the only one with this,” he said. “I was very lonely. I didn’t know where to turn or really understand what was going on.”

A new epidemic of loneliness and isolation has affected many others across the country, with serious implications for their physical and mental health, according to a recent advisory issued by U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy.

About half of U.S. adults have reported experiencing measurable levels of loneliness, according

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