Fanshawe College and the Eating Disorders Foundation of Canada are looking to team up to put the Mac Cuddy house in Strathroy to good use.

Talks are in the works between the two organizations to renovate the Mac Cuddy house into an eating disorder clinic with a different approach — the first of its kind in southwestern Ontario. According to Bernice Hull, vice-president of administration at Fanshawe, the facility will be "a non-hospital type environment where it's really more of a holistic care facility."

After the house was donated by the Cuddy family to the college in 2007, the facilities sat mostly unused. The gardens, however, have been maintained by Fanshawe's horticulture programs. The gardens are home to over 2,000 species of plants, including several endangered species.

"Since (2007), we've been looking at a number of options for the use of the house," said Hull. "We really don't have a specific academic purpose to use it for. Because (the EDFC) is so interested in working with us and engaging our students, it really seemed to be a win-win outcome for both organizations."

The EDFC is looking to give many of Fanshawe's students realworld experience through the clinic. "We anticipate opportunities for a number of our programs," said Hull. She said she sees programs such as fitness and health promotion, social services worker, nursing or personal support and more completing clinical or field placements at the facilities.

The clinic will operate in concert with the Lawson Health Research Institute, said Hull. "It's my understanding that they have made connections with Strathroy Middlesex General Hospital, because these people need to have ready access to medical care."

The plans for the clinic are not finalized yet, but a memorandum and use agreement is in the works between Fanshawe and the EDFC. According to Hull, negotiations are slated to be complete by spring or summer.

The project is estimated to cost $3 million. Some funding has already come from the provincial government, with other funds to come from corporate and individual donors.

When renovations are complete, the facility will have space for eight in-patients and 16 outpatients. "They're also going to be looking at setting that up as a monitoring site for people who have completed the program and have gone home but still need ongoing support and monitoring," added Hull. "They can do a lot of that (online)."

"This is a great opportunity for Fanshawe, for our students," she said. "We're happy to have found a partner to make the best use of that facility and to share those gardens with the EDFC."