Office of Primary Care and Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Program

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(SEPTEMBER 24, 2024) Erica Gibson, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics, and Haley McGowan, D.O., assistant professor of psychiatry, were interviewed by WCAX-TV for a story on a renewed push for experts equipped to tackle eating disorders in Vermont.

State data shows about one in 10 Vermonters will suffer from an eating disorder at some stage of life. Young women are especially vulnerable, although anyone can have an eating disorder.

“Some young people became quite ill before they came to the attention of their care providers. Or even if changes were subtle and slow over time, a family might not have noticed how bad things were getting,” said Gibson. “Things became a bit like a boiling pot and these issues skyrocketed for us. It was challenging to provide the level of support they needed given our small state and our smaller number of resources,” she said.

McGowan, who is director of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology Consult Program at the University of Vermont Medical Center and medical director of the Child, Adolescent and Family Unit at the Vermont Department of Mental Health, says it is parents who are pushing state leaders to do more.

“It was their collective voice that led to the development of the eating disorder workgroup. And so what that really did was create a blueprint for us of how to move forward,” McGowan said.

The eating disorder workgroup was established in 2022 under Act 115. It’s focused on studying and improving Vermonters’ access to eating disorder services. One goal is to train more experts to recognize the signs before patients reach a breaking point.

“That’s gotten us to a place where we are really critically looking at what we can do at all different levels, ideally to help prevent, to identify and intervene early,” said Gibson.