Margie’s Story

Margie is a mother, an accomplished musician, conductor, teacher, neighbor and friend. In 2023, she faced a mental health crisis that threatened her life. After searching throughout Oregon for the right treatment, Margie found the integrated care she needed close to home.

Grateful for integrated care

Margie is a self-described “over-achiever”—from her education at Stanford University, raising two successful sons, earning a master’s degree in conducting, to building a thriving music business in the Rogue Valley with her husband, Pat. Like most people, she has also faced her share of challenges like the death of her brother to suicide and mother’s lifetime of chronic illness plus the firsthand devastation of the Almeda fire that destroyed her neighborhood in Phoenix.

But in 2022, Margie began to experience acute symptoms of anxiety and depression due to chronic insomnia. She stopped eating. She didn’t really understand it at the time; the feeling of complete overwhelm at the thought of preparing and eating food. Even water was difficult to swallow. As she began to lose more and more weight, her family became increasingly concerned and helped her seek treatment in Portland. Unfortunately, the experience was not helpful and after three weeks she was released without any necessary tools to regain her health. Her mental and physical health continued to deteriorate over the next few months.

Her family searched for additional treatment facilities throughout Oregon with no success until Margie’s primary care provider referred her to Asante’s Behavioral Health Unit (BHU) at Rogue Regional Medical Center. Margie found the care she needed close to home and she was admitted in May of 2023.

By the time Margie entered the BHU her condition was serious—she was severely dehydrated, losing vital nutrients, and her digestive system was failing. Margie was in danger of dying.

“It was by the grace of God that I was brought to Asante.”

At Asante, Margie’s team of providers implemented an integrated plan addressing both her mental health and necessary emergency medical care. Led by a psychiatrist, her care team administered the proper medical intervention to save her life—engaging a gastroenterologist to address her failed digestive system, a nutritionist to rebuild her body, and therapeutic guidance for her severe anxiety and depression.

“The nurses showed such care and compassion amid crisis, providing one-on-one support when I needed it. Extra attention was given to things like sleep and nutrition, knowing that it was critical to my healing. The nurses tried to ensure that I had what I needed for recovery, while also showing so much patience in everything they did.”

After spending four months in the hospital, Margie was discharged with tools and medication to help ease her transition. But her anxiety persisted, and she started losing weight again, so she returned to Asante’s BHU only two months later. This time around, Margie’s care team worked just as diligently to treat her condition by adjusting medications, bringing in additional experts to strengthen her physical care routine, and connecting her with a licensed therapist to address her underlying trauma.

“They welcomed me back like a loving family. They gave me more tools. They provided the right medicine, the right support, and the right spiritual guidance.”

Today, Margie is back at home with her supportive husband, taking her medication and meeting regularly with a therapist. Mental illness can be a lifetime journey, but she is grateful to have the support of her family, friends and faith to make it through each day. As she reflects on her experience with Asante, she feels nothing but gratitude for her care, and especially for the doctors, nurses, CNAs and every staff member who showed her patience and compassion when she needed it most.

Margie recognizes that her care was also made possible by the generosity of community members. Asante Foundation donors supported the renovation of Asante’s Behavioral Health Unit as part of the AsanteForward campaign and many provide ongoing support of the program.

“To the donors, thank you for providing a safe place to begin my healing journey. I never felt alone, but instead, part of a team that continues to promote my wellbeing.”

—Margie, grateful patient of Asante Behavioral Health