Eating disorder center advances

It’s been four years since a residential treatment center for eating disorders was proposed for the Flathead Valley, just about the time the national recession dug its heels in here.

Now the project is back on the drawing board and Steve Bryson, a registered nurse and licensed clinical professional counselor from Whitefish, is again at the helm of the proposal.

“The timing and economic conditions just weren’t right back then,” Bryson said about the 2008 proposal. “Now it looks as if things are turning around.”

A $4 million, 20-bed residential care facility is planned at the former Homefitters building on U.S. 93 north of Kalispell. Ten beds would be designated for adolescent girls, with the other 10 beds for adult women.

“Ninety percent of people with eating disorders are women,” he noted.

If the city of Kalispell approves an annexation request, construction could begin by early summer, with completion as early as December.

Bryson, who has a private counseling practice in Whitefish, said he was approached by a group of investors who want to move forward with a for-profit residential care facility.

He is among five partners for the project.

Shane A. Hill, a Kalispell physician doing business as MedNorth Medical Center, owns the Homefitters building and property.

The proposed facility isn’t much smaller than Bryson’s original vision, a 24-bed nonprofit treatment facility first planned near North Valley Hospital in Whitefish and later considered by Missoula. That project was mothballed as the economy worsened.

“These people know what they’re doing,” Bryson said of the group of investors. “I appreciate their forthrightness and expertise, and I’m excited because this is something still so needed in the Pacific Northwest.”

Bryson would serve as chief executive officer and clinical director.

The already-established advisory board for the eating disorder facility is connected to Montana universities for research opportunities to provide “state-of-the-art, evidence-based compassionate care,” Bryson said.

Having North Valley Hospital and Kalispell Regional Medical Center close to the center is a plus, too, he added.

“Anorexia is the most fatal of all emotional and mental disorders,” Bryson said.

The facility would treat anorexia, bulimia and related disorders. Inpatient care ranges from 30 to 45 days, and an intensive outpatient program also is planned.

People with eating disorders typically need several weeks to months to effectively recover, he said. They require a combination of professionals to help them recover. A successful team typically includes a counselor, a medical doctor, a nutritionist and often an exercise physiologist.

Bryson estimated a staff of 19 professionals initially, with the potential to ramp up to 35.

“These are a lot of good-paying professional jobs,” he said. “This is great for the valley. It’s a clean industry and needed service.”

Bryson has counseled patients with eating disorders for several years. Several years ago, when one of his clients was gravely disabled from her eating disorder and required court-ordered residential care, Bryson said he discovered that comprehensive care for eating disorders was virtually unavailable in the Northwest.

After an exhaustive search, Bryson realized that the nearest facility was more than 600 miles away.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.