Sudbury doctor honoured for work treating eating disorders

A Sudbury doctor has been recognized for her longtime dedication to treating patients with eating disorders in northeastern Ontario.

Dr. Elaine Blacklock received a Women of Distinction Award from YWCA Sudbury at a gala Saturday evening for her work with the Health Sciences North eating disorder program.

When she learned she was getting the award, Dr. Blacklock said she found it a "real honour" and "humbling," but she was quick to share credit with the team of doctors, nurses, nutritionists, psychiatrists, and other professionals who work together to get people in Sudbury the care they need for conditions like anorexia or bulimia.

"My own feeling is I've been singled out for this honour, but I think it must go to the entire program in a way, because we work as a team, and I could not do what I do without their support," said Dr. Blacklock.

Came to Sudbury 16 years ago

Eating disorders weren't always the pediatrician's focus. She said she "kind of fell into it" when she moved to Sudbury 16 years ago.

"There was another pediatrician who worked with the program, and she left. And there was a hole there which I stepped in and filled," she said. 

"Increasingly I became quite fascinated by eating disorders, and I became very attached to many of the clientele that I was involved with, and their families. And it really is a field of pediatrics and adolescent medicine that you can dig into very deeply."

Dr. Blacklock grew more passionate about the work and her patients the more involved she got in the eating disorders program through Health Sciences North.

"They are very complicated conditions. They are onset often in adolescence, sometimes quite young, and they can easily extend into adult life. Not all people who develop an eating disorder get better, so it's a very ongoing chronic illness for many people," she said.

'A very powerful kind of illness'

Right now, people in Sudbury with eating disorders are admitted medically to the hospital, where they have access to doctors, dieticians, and a social worker. But Dr. Blacklock would like to see a dedicated, standalone inpatient eating disorders unit created for northeastern Ontario where patients could get specialized treatment and therapy.

"Eating disorders are illnesses. Sometimes even parents tend to believe that it is something that the girl is doing to themselves voluntarily in some way, or that they could stop if they could just see what they are doing to themselves," she said. 

"But this illness is a very powerful kind of illness. Once it gets rolling it has a very, very strong powerful force within the person's life. And I don't think that without a lot of help these girls can get better."

"I think that Dr. Elaine Blacklock has made the most impact to some of the most marginalized, stigmatized, and fragile patients in pediatrics — those with eating disorders," wrote Dr. Sean Murray, chief and medical director of the NEOKids and Family Program at HSN, in a letter of support for the YWCA award.

"I know that this pervasive positive energy makes a difference, as I have been first hand witness to the excellent outcomes of most of the young people that she helps with eating disorders," he added.