Dr. Michael Pertschuk; Director, Eating Disorders Program; at Brandywine Hospital
Eating disorders affect people everywhere, but help isn’t always available to them everywhere. That was the case in Chester County, until Dr. Michael Pertschuk created the region’s first in-patient eating disorders treatment center at Brandywine Hospital.
Pertschuk is one of the nation’s top ED specialists, combining psychological care with physical care to treat anorexia, bulimia and binge-eating disorder. At Brandywine’s new $12.5 million behavioral health center, Pertschuk created a program that specializes in adolescent eating disorders. The components include three weekly one-on-one therapy sessions, two weekly family therapy sessions, tutoring from a staff teacher, and group programs like art therapy. Patients’ average stay is three weeks, but some remain at the center for many months, and all are having success when they leave.
“The program is so unique that we have patients from as far away as Delaware, Ohio, New Jersey and New York,” says Pertschuk. “I only wish we had more beds to care for
all of the people who suffer from eating disorders.”
