The Magic City Wellness Center, Alabama’s only LGBTQ-focused primary care facility, recently announced their plans to open a second location at Hanover Circle South in Birmingham next year.
According to data from the National Eating Disorders Association, this center has the potential to impact hundreds of thousands of patients in Alabama alone.
What is its purpose?
According to their mission statement, Magic City Wellness Center at Hanover “will provide residential, partial hospitalization, and intensive outpatient care for individuals with eating disorders and co-occurring mental health conditions through compassionate, comprehensive mental health services within an LGBTQ affirming environment.”
The center’s director Christa Mayfield said that Magic City Wellness was inspired to add this specialized center after they recognized a desperate need for eating disorder treatment within the LGBTQ community.
In the U.S., just under 30 million people will have an eating disorder in their lifetime, according to a study from the National Eating Disorders Association. And roughly 430,000 of these people live in Alabama.
Eating disorders kill over 10,000 people a year (nationally), which is about 1 person every hour, according to the study. Within the LGBTQ community, 75% of adolescents have been diagnosed with or think they may have an eating disorder. And 58% of those diagnosed have considered suicide.
“Those numbers are alarming,” Mayfield said. “It’s astonishing. And what’s more alarming about that is we know that there is an even higher number that has not been diagnosed because these (LGBTQ) individuals tend to avoid the doctor or because lack of affirmation.”
Who can be treated there?
Although Magic City Wellness Center at Hanover is an LGBTQ affirming environment, Mayfield said it is not LGBTQ exclusive. Anyone who has been diagnosed with an eating disorder can be treated there.
“Eating disorders do not discriminate,” she said.
According to the center’s website, patients facing an eating disorder and associated mental health challenges such as anxiety, depression, and trauma will receive residential, (PHP) day treatment, intensive outpatient, and outpatient care.
“With a team of experienced professionals, our new facility will provide a range of therapeutic services including individual and group counseling, support groups, medication management, and holistic wellness programs,” the site reads. “This expansion underscores Magic City Wellness Center’s commitment to continue meeting the increasing need for mental health services in the community while ensuring that more people can access care to achieve mental well-being in a safe, supportive, and nonjudgmental environment.”
How will this impact the community and the state?
Mayfield said the center is anticipated to bring in people from all around the country. She added that every other center of its nature in the U.S. currently has a waiting list.
In addition to the treatment the center will provide, she said it is also expected to add around 100 new jobs to the Greater Birmingham area.
She urged interested parties to apply for open positions at www.hanoverbhm.org/careers.
Has it received any state or federal funding?
The center is still in the early stages of accreditation, according to Mayfield. After it is accredited, Magic City Wellness will start applying for grants and other funding, she said.
When is it scheduled to open?
The center is currently expected to open in the second quarter of 2025, Mayfield said
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