Oconomowoc, Wis. – Nicolette E. Weisensel, MD has been named medical director for the inpatient eating disorder program at Rogers Memorial Hospital – Oconomowoc.

“Dr. Weisensel has been an incredible asset to our team,” said Theodore E. Weltzin, MD, who oversees Rogers Memorial Hospital’s team of more than 80 professionals specializing in the treatment of eating disorders. “Her contributions have significantly increased awareness within the medical community about the complexity of eating disorders.”

Dr. Weisensel is a board-certified psychiatrist who has lectured and presented nationally on the diagnosis and treatment of complex eating disorders in males and females.

She is a past recipient of the American Psychiatric Association Aventis Travel Fellowship and a current member of the American Psychiatric Association, International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals, and the Wisconsin Psychiatric Association. She will provide full-time leadership of the inpatient eating disorders treatment program at Rogers Memorial Hospital – Oconomowoc.

For more information about Dr. Weisensel, or to learn more about eating disorders treatment at Rogers Memorial Hospital, visit http://www.rogerseatingdisorders.org/.

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Rogers Memorial Hospital is Wisconsin’s largest, not-for-profit, behavioral health care provider for children, adolescents, adults and older adults.  The hospital is nationally recognized for its residential treatment centers including The Eating Disorder Center, The Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Center and The Child and Adolescent Centers. Rogers Memorial also provides residential treatment services for chemical dependency, inpatient and partial hospitalization, as well as day treatment programs.  Rogers Memorial is licensed as a psychiatric hospital by the State of Wisconsin and accredited by The Joint Commission.  To learn more, please call 800-767-4411 or visit at www.rogershospital.org.

Rogers Memorial Hospital hosts book signing event, launches new support groups.

To raise awareness of eating disorders and of the impact of the cultural infatuation with impossible and sometimes deadly body images, the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) hosts National Eating Disorders Week Feb. 22 through February 28, 2009.

NEDA Week Coverage Opportunities:

Jenni Schaefer: Rogers Memorial Hospital brings one of the author of “Life without Ed,” to the Marquette University campus on Thursday, Feb. 26. Schaefer is available Thursday morning for limited appearances and interviews.
Dr. Ted Weltzin: Director of one of the nation’s few Residential Treatment Centers for men: Dr. Theodore Weltzin, our medical director, is one of the nation’s premier specialists in the treatment of eating disorders in males. Dr. Weltzin has been featured on CBS news as well as Dr. Phil.
New Inpatient Unit: Rogers Memorial Hospital – Milwaukee is home to one of the nation’s few inpatient treatment centers for children and adolescents with eating disorders. This program is under the direction of Dr. Tracey Cornella Carlson, a board-certified child, adolescent and adult psychiatrist

Rogers Memorial Hospital is a trusted treatment provider in the nation’s ongoing struggle against eating disorders. Consider checking out Rogers Memorial Hospital’s Eating Disorders Services Website, where we have a collection of resources for you to use.
NEDA has a great collection of facts and statistics to provide the most accurate and up-to-date information on eating disorders, including recent publications that add relevance and importance to your stories.

NEDA: For national and regional media requests, please contact the NEDA NY Office (212) 575-6200, ext 2; media@myneda.org.

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Nationally known trainer will build on high quality of care offered at Rogers Memorial

Town of Summit – Stacey L. Nye, Ph.D., FAED, a Mequon-based psychologist with over 20 years of treatment, training, writing and and speaking experience in the field of eating disorders has accepted the position of eating disorders staff and program development specialist at Rogers Memorial Hospital.

“We are committed to providing high quality care and Stacey will be an excellent addition to our team as she enhances our staff development program,” explained Paul Mueller, COO of  the non-profit behavioral health care provider. “Every day we are treating on average 80 individuals suffering with an eating disorder; a nationally respected professional like Stacey will bolster Rogers Memorial’s abilities to treat this serious illness across all of our behavioral health treatment programs.”

Rogers Memorial provides specialized, intensive care for a wide range of psychiatric and behavioral health conditions, including chemical dependency and anxiety disorders, in addition to its nationally known eating disorders treatment program, the largest such program in Wisconsin.

Among Nye’s first responsibilities will be to solidify Rogers Memorial Hospital’s eating disorders treatment staff curriculum. “It is an honor to have the opportunity to work with an  internationally respected provider such as Rogers Memorial Hospital.  The staff, who are on the front lines of the program, are critical to helping our patients achieve recovery from this devastating illness,” said Nye.

Nye received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Northwestern University Medical School in 1991. She currently practices individual and group therapy at her Mequon, Wisc. and Elm Grove, Wisc. practices. She is also a faculty instructor at the Wisconsin School of Professional Psychology where she teaches a graduate level course on the diagnoses, etiology and treatment of eating disorders. Her articles have been published in scholarly journals all over the world. She was selected as a Founding Fellow for the Academy for Eating Disorders in 2001.

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Eating disorders platform a natural fit for non-profit behavioral health provider

Town of Summit, Wisc. – Kirsten Haglund, 2008 Miss America, will speak at the Rogers Memorial Hospital Foundation’s 2008 Annual Benefit.

During her presentation, Haglund will demonstrate how she has helped raise awareness of the pervasive 

and deadly nature of eating disorders. She will also reflect on her own personal recovery from an eating disorder. 

In the United States, nearly 10 million females and 1 million males are fighting a life and  death battle with an eating disorder like anorexia or bulimia. Millions more are struggling with binge eating disorder.

The eating disorders platform correlates with Rogers Memorial’s highly-specialized, intensive eating disorders treatment services. Rogers Memorial offers a full continuum of eating disorders treatment for males, females, adolescents and adults with co-occurring anxiety disorders and employs over 70 eating disorders professionals in its treatment programs.

The Rogers Memorial Hospital Foundation’s 2008 annual benefit will be held on November 8, 2008 at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Milwaukee. 

The 2008 Annual Benefit will also include a cocktail reception, dinner, silent and live auctions, the presentation of the foundation’s annual “Spirit of Giving” award.  Proceeds from this event will be used to support the patients and programs of Rogers Memorial Hospital. Tickets can be purchased by contacting the Rogers Memorial Hospital Foundation at 262-646-1343.

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Eating disorders program at Rogers Memorial Hospital expands to include specialized care for children and adolescents

Milwaukee - Tracey Cornella-Carlson, M.D., will lead the development of a new inpatient eating disorders treatment program for children and adolescents that will expand the capacity of Rogers Memorial Hospital’s Eating Disorder Services.

“The average age of those suffering from life-stealing diseases like anorexia is dropping,” said Cornella-Carlson.

The federal Office on Women’s Health recently reported that eating disorders are being diagnosed in girls as young as 9 years old. Rogers Memorial’s own statistics report a similar drop in the average age of those seeking treatment for eating disorders. “The numbers of people suffering from eating disorders are on the rise in the United States, not only among adolescent white women, but among all ethnic groups, boys, and even little girls,” Cornella-Carlson said.

“Fortunately,” she said, “treatment does work, especially when it is administered early and integrated with medical care.”

Cornella-Carlson, a board-certified child, adolescent and adult psychiatrist at Rogers Memorial, the largest non-profit behavioral health treatment provider in Wisconsin,  will be a hands-on leader and clinician in new program scheduled to open this fall at Rogers Memorial – Milwaukee.

Under Cornella-Carlson’s leadership, Rogers Memorial’s inpatient program for children and adolescents will feature nutritional and medical stabilization, a comprehensive psychiatric evaluation for identification and treatment of potential co-occurring illnesses and family-focused therapy. This inpatient hospitalization program will also be the first at Rogers Memorial to feature on-site dietitian-supervised meals.

“While dietitians have always played a strong role in our treatment centers,” said Cornella-Carlson, “this program will be our first to have the dietitian at the table with our patients.”
This keys in with the program’s educational aspect, Cornella-Carlson said. “Our emphasis will be on educating and involving families. Transitioning to other levels of care will also be a priority,” she said.

“At Rogers Memorial Hospital, we are fortunate to be able to offer residential and partial hospitalization care, which could provide a very smooth transition from the inpatient unit,” explained Theodore Weltzin, Director of Eating Disorder Services at Rogers Memorial. “By offering an entire range of treatment options, we’re better able to help patients sustain their recovery.”

As part of the creation of the program, Cornella-Carlson will be given the title Medical Director of the Child and Adolescent, Inpatient and Partial Hospitalization Eating Disorder Programs at Rogers Memorial – Milwaukee.

Cornella-Carlson received her medical degree from the Chicago Medical School in 1992. She also completed a three-year general psychiatry residency and a two-year fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry as Chief Fellow at Rush Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center in Chicago. She has done research on Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, and specializes in eating disorder treatment.

Cornella-Carlson is licensed to practice psychiatry in the state of Wisconsin, and a current member of the Academy for Eating Disorders and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. She has seen hundreds of patients with eating disorders during her tenure with Rogers Memorial.

Rogers Memorial Hospital Foundation hosts annual Women’s Gathering Event

Oconomowoc, Wisc. - Women from all ages filled the Bluemound Country Club in Suburban Milwaukee County on June 3 as part of The Rogers Memorial Hospital Foundation’s fourth Annual Women’s Gathering. Nearly 200 area women shared an afternoon luncheon learning and discussing the impact that eating disorders and eating disorders treatment has on adult women.

“As women we are meant to connect with each other,” said Tracy Cornella-Carlson, a full-time psychiatrist at Rogers Memorial Hospital, southeastern Wisconsin’s largest behavioral health service provider.
“At Rogers, we realize that eating disorders are no longer an adolescent phenomena. We now see and treat an increasing number of midlife women.”

In the United States, as many as 10 million females struggle with an eating disorder such as anorexia or bulimia, according to the National Eating Disorders Association. Because of the secretiveness and shame often associated with eating disorders, many cases are probably not reported.

“Women in midlife may feel that they are ‘too old’ for this problem,” Cornella-Carlson told those at the Women’s Gathering. “Their eating disorder has become part of their life.” Many of these women don’t think that their life can be any different; their eating disorder has become a way of life for them and they don’t know how to change, she said.

“But treatment does work and life can be better,” Cornella-Carlson said.
Treatment may have saved the life of one woman at the gathering; Kathryn Lambrecht, in recovery from her eating disorder since April of 2007, also spoke to the women.

“It is possible to love and accept your body at any age and at any stage,” said Lambrecht. Working with Rogers Memorial, she and her husband Marc learned how to challenge her eating disorder, she said.  After working with Rogers Memorial staff, her own therapists and support groups, she is now sharing the story of her recovery.

“Without the treatment, I most likely would not be here today. The staff helped me to draw my wings, so that I could learn to fly again,” Lambrecht said.

In fact, anorexia, an eating disorder wherein its sufferers typically restrict caloric intake to dangerous levels, has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. Approximately one in 10 women with anorexia will die of complications from the disorder.

The women at the gathering stood and applauded Lambrecht for sharing her story.

The event was designed around the idea that as a group, women have a great power. “I believe as women we are meant to connect with each other. to support, encourage and accept. I propose we use the body as a vehicle to connect. and do good things,” Cornella-Carlson said. “The focus should be on what they body can do, not how it looks.”

Put on annually by the Rogers Memorial Hospital Foundation, the Woman’s Gathering is part of the foundation’s mission to raise awareness and financial support for the patients and programs of Rogers Memorial. “Our donors are partners with us in this important mission, helping to save lives and change lives through their gifts and giving,” said Foundation Executive Marion Heinz.

Rogers Memorial Hospital offers specialized, intensive eating disorder treatment services for men, women, adolescents, and adults with co-occurring anxiety disorders.

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Keynote Speaker Pam Derosa of the In Formed Foundation holds a sign of hope and awareness during the annual Candle Light Vigil for Eating Disorders Awareness at Rogers Memorial Hospital in Oconomowoc. This is the sixth year that Rogers Memorial has observed the national vigil, in cooperation with the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders. More information about the In Formed Foundation can be found at www.informed4u.org. [Download PDF]

Attendees Get First Glimpse Of New Eating Disorder and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Treatment Centers

Town of Summit, Wisc. – State and local leaders were introduced to Rogers Memorial Hospital’s newest residential treatment centers on Friday, Feb. 29. About 40 people, including neighbors of the Delafield-located center, attended the grand opening ceremony.

The facilities are roughly a mile east of the main Oconomowoc location. The two centers include 24 beds – 16 for individuals with eating disorders, featuring specialized programming for adults with co-occurring anxiety disorders, and eight beds for individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder and other anxiety disorders.

The residential expansion is not the only thing Rogers Memorial Hospital’s officials have on their agenda. A $7 million addition to Rogers Memorial Hospital – Milwaukee, located in West Allis, is expected to open in June 2008. Additionally, plans are underway to expand the Herrington Recovery Center, a residential chemical dependency treatment program for adults at the Oconomowoc campus.

Rogers Memorial Hospital is a nonprofit behavioral healthcare provider for children, adolescents, adults and older adults. The hospital is nationally recognized for its residential treatment centers including the Eating Disorder Center, the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Center and the Child and Adolescent Centers. The Herrington Recovery Center provides residential treatment services for chemical dependency. Inpatient and partial hospitalization services are also available. Rogers Memorial is licensed as a psychiatric hospital by the State of Wisconsin and accredited by the Joint Commission. It offers treatment programs at four Wisconsin locations: Oconomowoc, Milwaukee, Kenosha and Brown Deer.

To learn more, please call 800.767.4411 or visit us online at www.rogershopital.org.

More high resolution photos, available under a creative commons licence, can be downloaded from our Flickr pool. Permission is also granted for periodicals to reproduce these photos free of charge.

For additional information about this release please contact Gabe Wollenburg at (262) 646-4411 x365.

To raise awareness of eating disorders and of the impact of the cultural infatuation with impossible and sometimes deadly body images, the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) hosts National Eating Disorders Week Feb. 24 through March 1, 2008.

We’ve put together this media alert for you to read and distribute while you prepare for your upcoming coverage.

Article, Resources Available

Rogers Memorial Hospital is a major treatment center in the nation’s ongoing struggle against eating disorders. Consider checking out Rogers Memorial’s Web site, where we have a collection of resources for you to use in your upcoming coverage of National Eating Disorders Week. We also have a 700 word article up at our Web site available for you to run or adapt for your publication.

NEDA has a great collection of fact sheets provide the most accurate and up-to-date information on eating disorders, including statistics that add relevance and importance to your stories.

Media Contact Information

Rogers Memorial Hospital: All media requests can be made to Communications Specialist Gabe Wollenburg. Call (262) 646-1389.
NEDA: For national and major regional media requests, please contact Susan Kayne, Marketing & Communications Director, (212) 575-6200 ext. 2. For other regional media requests, please contact Tonia Brown, (206) 382-3587 ext. 18.

To learn more, please call 800.767.4411 or visit Rogers Memorial online at www.rogershopital.org.

Rogers Memorial Hospital Treats Patients With Multiple Disorders In New Facility

Summit, Wisc. -Many people are shocked to learn that Eating Disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, the mortality rate associated with anorexia nervosa is 12 times higher than the death rate of all causes of death for females 15 to 24 years old.
“A thin body is perceived as a simple answer for acceptance and happiness,” said Tracey Cornella-Carlson MD, a staff psychiatrist with Rogers Memorial Hospital’s Eating Disorders Services. “The perception is that it is ‘bad’ to be overweight and everyone should strive to become thin,” she said.
This is a perception that Rogers Memorial is working toward changing by serving as a sponsor of National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, February 24 – March 1, 2008.
National Eating Disorders Awareness Week highlights the fact that body size and shape are strongly influenced by biological factors – such as genetics. The week-long observation also calls attention to some of the new discoveries surrounding the role of genetics in the development of eating disorders. Too often individuals struggle against their natural, genetically influenced size just to fit into that pair of “skinny jeans” in the back of their closets. Fighting your natural size and shape can lead to unhealthy dieting practices, poor body image and sometimes eating disorders.
Rogers Memorial Hospital’s nationally recognized Eating Disorders Services treat those suffering from anorexia nervosa, bulimia, binge eating, and other disorders, using proven, evidence-based treatment components that give individuals the best chance at recovery, said Cornella-Carlson.
In fact, the week of Feb. 10, Rogers Memorial Hospital opened a $2 million expansion of The Eating Disorders Center. The newest facility, located about a mile down the road from the hospital’s town of Summit campus, expands Rogers Memorial’s ability to treat adult women with eating disorders, and creates a location specializing in treating adults with co¬occurring anxiety disorders.
“We’re excited to have a chance to expand our effective eating disorders program. This is a very serious disorder in today’s society,” said Ted Weltzin MD, Medical Director of Eating Disorders Services at Rogers Memorial. “By expanding our program, we are helping many more people who deserve and really need the kind of treatment we offer.”
Weltzin said Rogers Memorial Hospital offers three levels of care for individuals with eating disorders. The primary goals of treatment are to achieve nutritional stability, to identify and correct errors in thinking (such as body image distortions and perfectionism), and to address other obstacles to maintaining recovery. The hospital’s treatment approach encourages self-empowerment, from admission to discharge and aftercare planning, individuals are involved in every step of the treatment process, Weltzin said.
Rogers Memorial Hospital is a nonprofit behavioral health care provider for children, adolescents, adults and older adults. The hospital is nationally recognized for its residential treatment centers including the Eating Disorder Center, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Center, Child Center and the Child and Adolescent Center. Rogers Memorial also provides residential treatment services for chemical dependency. Inpatient and partial hospitalization services are also available. Rogers Memorial is licensed as a psychiatric hospital by the State of Wisconsin and accredited by the Joint Commission. It offers treatment programs at four Wisconsin locations: Oconomowoc, Milwaukee, Kenosha and Brown Deer.
To learn more, please call 800.767.4411 or visit Rogers Memorial online at www.rogershopital.org.
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If you’d like more information on this topic, or to schedule an interview, please contact Gabe Wollenburg at 262.646.1389 or send email to gwollenburg@rogershospital.org.

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