New protocol combines frequent Family-Based Treatment (FBT) sessions, daily meal supervision, and wrap-around care from a dedicated multidisciplinary team

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Equip, a leading provider of virtual, evidence-based eating disorder treatment in the U.S., today announced Equip Transition Track: an enhanced care protocol that allows medically stable patients with caregiver supports (ages 6–24) to step down from inpatient care directly to their home environment. By delivering intensive, structured clinical care virtually, the protocol gives patients who would otherwise be candidates for residential, PHP or IOP care a direct path home.

How Transition Track Works
Grounded in FBT, the gold standard in youth eating disorder care, Transition Track surrounds families with high-touch clinical support during the first several weeks after hospital discharge—the highest-risk window for relapse and readmission. The protocol pairs frequent therapy, daily virtual meal supervision and hands-on caregiver coaching, then transitions into continuous care with the same multidisciplinary team for a total of 12 months.

Guidelines across major professional organizations, including the American Psychiatric Association (APA), the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine (SAHM) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), backed by peer-reviewed research, clearly recommend outpatient treatment supported by families, including FBT, as the first line of care for any medically stable patient.

"Having gone through recovery myself, I know firsthand how hard it is to take the skills you learn in a hospital and apply them to real life at home, which is why relapse happens so often," said Kristina Saffran, CEO and Co-Founder of Equip. "Transition Track meets patients where recovery actually happens: in their own homes, around their own dinner tables. Practicing those skills in daily life right after leaving the hospital gives families the best shot at lasting recovery."

For many, the shift from structured clinical facilities back to daily life presents the highest hurdle to sustainable recovery—a challenge that helped inspire the development of Transition Track.

"When I was 14, I was diagnosed with an eating disorder. Ever since then, I had been in the system of inpatient and outpatient treatment," said a former Equip patient. "Inpatient…I feel like it was helpful, but it was always like a bubble, and when you come out of the bubble, you're in the same environment, and it's hard to keep doing it. But with Equip, it didn't really feel like that. It was home, and I still had pretty much the same level of support that I would have had in an IOP. Right away, I was like, 'OK, this is a good next step.' It felt like a gradual return to the rest of the world."

Equip's Clinical Effectiveness
Transition Track builds on Equip's proven track record of treating medically stable patients with severe eating disorders¹, having supported nearly 6,000 of those patients over the past two years.

• Over 90% of these patients see sufficient improvements at home to avoid discharge from Equip to higher levels of care
• Three in four achieve minimal or subclinical levels of eating disorder, anxiety and depression symptoms within six months;
• Eight in 10 of these patients and families report high overall treatment satisfaction.

Key Features of Transition Track

• Real-World Skill Building: Empowers patients to practice recovery tools during family meals, social events and school routines.
• Multidisciplinary Team Continuity: Unifies specialized disciplines, including a licensed therapist, registered dietitian, medical provider, and coaches, under one coordinated care plan.
• Front-Loaded Clinical Intensity: Increased frequency of FBT therapy, including twice the standard FBT therapy frequency, live nutrition support and daily supervised meals.
• Targeted Caregiver Coaching: Pairs parents and guardians with a caregiver coach with lived experience, providing hands-on training, in-session and asynchronous skills curricula and support groups before and after hospital discharge.

About Equip
Equip is a leading virtual, evidence-based eating disorder treatment program on a mission to ensure that everyone with an eating disorder can access treatment that works. Created by clinical experts in the field and people with lived experience, Equip builds upon evidence-based treatments to empower individuals to reach lasting recovery. All Equip patients receive a dedicated care team, which may include a therapist, dietitian, physician, and coaches with lived experience. The company operates in all 50 states and is partnered with most major health insurance plans and a growing number of Medicaid plans. For more information, visit equip.health.

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¹ *Defined as those who either step down directly from inpatient care or meet strict APA criteria for PHP-level care.

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SOURCE Equip