About ACUTE
What is ACUTE?
ACUTE is a 30-bed inpatient medical hospitalization program specializing in the medical stabilization and refeeding of patients with severe eating disorders and malnutrition.
Our Mission
Our mission is to further improve the expert medical stabilization care for persons affected by the extreme medical complications of eating disorders, as well as those suffering with severe malnutrition stemming from advanced disease or infection, through excellence in medical stabilization and nutritional therapy, cutting-edge medical research and continuing education related to this field.
Care at ACUTE
Life-Saving Eating Disorder Care
Eating disorders are complex mental health conditions that often lead to serious medical problems. No matter how long someone has had their eating disorder, severe cases increase the risk for fatal complications like:
- Hypoglycemia
- Potentially fatal cardiac arrhythmia
- Sudden cardiac death
These patients often have needs that cannot be met at lower levels of care. Without treatment in a specialized inpatient medical hospitalization program, they may experience less favorable outcomes at residential treatment centers, emergency rooms and general hospitals.
ACUTE treats patients with:
- Anorexia nervosa
- Atypical anorexia nervosa
- Bulimia nervosa
- Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder
- And other eating disorder diagnoses
World Renown Malnutrition Care
ACUTE also treats patients with severe malnutrition who often have chronic or acute medical conditions or non-eating disorder psychiatric conditions. For these patients, malnutrition can be a barrier to treatments like organ transplants, infection management, surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. ACUTE offers specialized care to medically stabilize these patients and help them regain weight, preparing them for the next step in their treatment.
When hope is enveloped in darkness, ACUTE maintains the solidarity we have gained and reputation forged across 17 years of compassionate excellence. We deliver hope for survival and recovery.
Dr. Philip Mehler, Founder and Executive Medical Director
What Makes ACUTE Different
- Multidisciplinary team
- 24/7 telemetry monitoring
- On-site lab monitoring & medical imaging
- On-site access to specialty consults
- Customized meal planning
- Parenteral and enteral refeeding
- 1:1 patient monitoring
- Private rooms with bathrooms
- National Center of Excellence
Who Does ACUTE Treat?
Adult Treatment Program
Adult patients who are too medically complex for treatment in other residential treatment programs are accepted at ACUTE.
Learn more.
Adolescent Treatment Program
Both male and female patients aged 15 and older, regardless of how low their BMI is, are accepted at ACUTE.
Learn more.
International Patients
As an international resource for patients requiring urgent, specialized medical care, ACUTE regularly admits patients from outside the United States.
Learn more.
LGBTQ+ Patients
ACUTE is an inclusive facility that accepts patients of all genders, gender expressions and sexual orientations.
Learn more.
About Our Founder
Philip S. Mehler, MD, FACP, FAED, CEDS
Dr. Philip S. Mehler founded the ACUTE Center for Eating Disorders & Severe Malnutrition in 2001, establishing the nation’s first—and only—dedicated medical stabilization unit for patients suffering from the most extreme forms of eating disorders and malnutrition. For more than two decades, Dr. Mehler’s vision and leadership shaped ACUTE into an internationally recognized center of excellence in the treatment, research, and education of severe eating disorders.
Dr. Mehler began his career at Denver Health more than 35 years ago, serving as Chief of Internal Medicine, Chief Medical Officer, and later as Denver Health’s Medical Director until his retirement from that role in 2014. His enduring commitment to compassionate, evidence-based medical care laid the foundation for ACUTE’s integrated model of medical and psychiatric treatment.
An internationally acclaimed physician and researcher, Dr. Mehler is the Glassman Professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and a leading authority on the medical complications of Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia. Over his career, he has authored more than 600 scientific publications and five textbooks published by Johns Hopkins University Press, helping define the field of medical care for eating disorders.
Dr. Mehler’s groundbreaking work has earned him numerous honors, including being named among the “Best Doctors in America” for more than two decades and multiple recognitions as Denver’s Top Internal Medicine Physician by 5280 Magazine. He is the only individual ever to receive both the iaedp and Academy for Eating Disorders Lifetime Achievement Awards (2023 and 2025, respectively) for his lasting contributions to the field.
A fellow of the Eating Disorders Research Society and the Academy for Eating Disorders, Dr. Mehler also serves as Senior Editor of The Journal of Eating Disorders and sits on the editorial board of the International Journal of Eating Disorders. For over three decades, he has lectured nationally and internationally, training and inspiring generations of clinicians to advance the medical care of individuals with eating disorders.
Dr. Mehler’s pioneering work continues to influence every aspect of ACUTE’s mission, ensuring that patients with the most severe and complex eating disorders receive the expert, compassionate care they deserve.