Eating disorder treatment center permanently closes in Columbia

Less than 14 months after it opened its doors, a Columbia eating disorder treatment center closed them for the last time Friday.

McCallum Place Eating Disorder Treatment Centers said the decision to close the Columbia office was made to focus resources on the main St. Louis office. It also has a Kansas City location.

“It has been an honor to serve this community over the past year,” the Columbia office said. “We would have loved to have been able to see our mission in Columbia through and are heartbroken that we will no longer be able to do so. We are told that this decision was made to reallocate resources to the main St Louis site to ensure longevity in McCallum Place’s overall mission to serve those struggling with eating disorders.”

ABC 17 News was on hand when McCallum Place held its grand opening for the Columbia office.

At the time, founder Dr. Kim McCallum stressed the unique service the center provided, and that it was able to offer all different phases and angles of treatment in one place.

“There is very little available in Columbia and if you have a severe eating disorder you need good outpatient clinicians [and] Columbia has that,” McCallum said. “But you also need a place to go where you can have intensive focused therapy, and meal support, family education, and skills building.”

Those with questions or concerns have been asked to call the center’s main office at 1-800-828-8158.