03-08-2010 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, March 8, 2010 7:00 o'clock p.m. ( #10 -3442 THE EMILYPROGRAM, 2180 NORTHSHORE DRIVE, Continued) Ryan Borne, 1725 Fagerness Point Road, stated he routinely drives through this area and is familiar with the traffic. Borne commented he is hearing a lot of people say that this is not a health care issue, this is not us wanting this in our community. Borne indicated he feels that if this was a 30 child to 100 child school, that there would nof be any opposition here even though it would certainly add more traffic than a 10 -bed inpatient facility. Borne noted the patients would not be driving to and from the facility since it is an inpatient facility. Deb Vollmar, 4879 Main Street East, Maple Plain, stated she is a mother of a child with an eating disorder. Her daughter was a1996 graduate of Orono High School and an honor student every semester. In fact, she has been an honor student since first grade. In 1993, she developed anorexia. She was also a member of the National Honor Society and recognized for her poetry and short stories at Anoka. She has been on the Dean's list every semester in college and graduated with honors. She is now employed as an occupational therapist in Milwaukee. Vollmar indicated she is sharing this story with everyone because her daughter almost died. Vollmar indicated she did not know anything about eating disorders and did not expect to be in this situation. Eating disorders are in our school district here and everywhere. There are students with eating disorders at Blake School, at Breck Schools, and in every high school and every college in every state. This disease seems to strike the best and the brightest. • Vollmar stated she has spoken with her daughter and asked her to write a short statement. At the time this happened, they had to find treatment, which resulted in them going to several different places for nutrition and therapy. Neither place was trained to deal with eating disorders. In August, her weight was at 110 pounds, and she ended up in the hospital in October. The day she was admitted she weighed 74 pounds. Vollmar read a statement from her daughter which indicated that this was a very difficult part of her life. Looking back now at all the struggles they went through to find help or a program that would actually fit was very frustrating. She ended up being with other people who were suffering from a mental illness that had nothing to do with an eating disorder. She did not have deviant behavior, did not have difficulty getting along with people, and did not need to be watched 24 hours a day. People with eating disorders have issues with control and self - esteem and suffer from an internal struggle to be okay with themselves. In a hospital setting, she once again felt alone and at a loss. People with eating disorders are very high functioning. Most of the time people with eating disorders are very private and suffer from internal struggles. There is not a lot of outward behavior that is sometimes associated with other mental illnesses. Recovering from this disease involves support but also space to work on a person's own private issues. A residential atmosphere would allow for that supportive environment. It would also provide an opportunity to work on the skills necessary to fight the illness, allow for activities like meal planning, learning how to grocery shop and prepare meals, how to eat and function at the dinner table, how to manage anxiety and social situations involving food, and how to deal with all of the emotions that tend to trigger avoidance of these situations. These are more of the issues relating to eating disorders. It is a different type of illness and requires a different type of treatment. Vollmar stated as part of her daughter's treatment at the University of Minnesota, at the time she was admitted their eating disorder unit was not open. Her daughter was forced to be in the mental health lockdown unit at the hospital with men and women with other issues. That type of situation does not work. At the present time her daughter is doing well, married, and is an occupational therapist. Vollmar stated at that time she did not • think she would live and that these girls deserve a chance. - f Page 11 of 23 1