Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Genie Burnett. Them and their team share their story with us below:
The concept for Manna Fund was birthed early in 2006. Dr. Genie Burnett and her colleagues specialized in the treatment of eating disorders at the outpatient level of care, and became increasingly concerned about the lack of adequate inpatient treatment funding available to those suffering from life-threatening eating disorders. Through her own personal and clinical experience and in-depth research, Dr. Burnett discovered an alarming number of obstacles and “barriers to care” for those who found themselves needing inpatient treatment for eating disorders. The most prominent barriers being lack of insurance coverage, coverage with inadequate benefits, lack of or low reimbursement rates, and coverage that restricts certain types of specialized treatments, qualified therapists, and treatment centers. As a result of these disheartening truths, 2007 saw the 501(c)(3) Manna Scholarship Fund come to fruition, a non-profit corporation fully dedicated to “fill the funding gap” for individuals needing the most immediate and critical level of care – inpatient and/or residential treatment.
Over the years, Manna Fund has provided funding towards inpatient, residential, partial hospitalization, and intensive outpatient care. These individuals have limited and sometimes no insurance coverage. Manna Fund grants partial and often 100% scholarships to recipients by providing direct payment to partnering eating disorder treatment facilities as well as operating a local partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient program.
*Dr. Genie herself battled an eating disorder at an early age. She was a champion gymnast and went through the grueling training and desire for “perfection”. Leading her into a terrible battle with an ED. Through therapy she was able to recover and now thrives in helping others recover.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Running a business is never a “smooth road.” There have been many ups and many downs. You learn as you go. There have been some financial stresses along the way but God has always provided and comes through right when we needed it. As a non-profit, we are solely relying on our donors to keep us a float and to kick ED butt one client at a time!
Covid has been a nightmare of course but we have been able to see more clients virtually and it has worked out well.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Manna Fund is a 501c(3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing hope and financial assistance to individuals who need eating disorder treatment scholarships. Manna provides funding for inpatient, residential, Partial Hospitalization, and Intensive Outpatient eating disorder treatment for individuals lacking insurance coverage or for those with inadequate insurance coverage. Manna Fund grants scholarships to recipients by providing direct payment to partnering eating disorder treatment facilities.
Our Mission
To address the epidemic of eating disorders by providing prevention, education, research, and financial assistance for treatment to all qualified individuals through well-administered programs.
Our tagline is from Surviving to Thriving to Leading!
Manna Treatment is a CARF accredited organization. The Committee on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) is an international organization that supports therapeutic agencies in reaching excellence in care. Manna Treatment was originally accredited in 2017 and was re-accredited for three more years on April 8-9, 2021. If you would like more information on this process, please see the “CARF Corner” on our Manna Treatment page.
Manna Treatment is an Atlanta-based treatment program that provides PHP and IOP levels of care for those struggling with eating disorders and trauma. Our program is open to females and males who are 12 and up. We are also willing to do a children’s program when we have several children.
Manna is a Christian-based organization. Like Jesus, we accept all individuals who have differing faiths to participate in our programs. We do not force our Christian beliefs on others and we are also willing to share our relationship with Jesus with you if you want to understand it better. We believe that giving you a different treatment process is a much better way to introduce you to Christianity versus forcing any discussion or requirement to believe as we do.
We are all about love, acceptance, and a safe and healthy recovery.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Nothing worth fighting for comes easy. There will be some road blocks along the way but keep pushing. Work hard.
Stay humble.
Trust in God.
And pray!
Pray, pray and keep praying.
Contact Info:
- Email: gburnett@mannatreatment.com
- Website: https://mannafund.org/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/mannafund
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MannaFundOrg/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/NeedManna
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/MannaFunddotorg
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/food-faith-and-feelings
- Other: https://www.gofundme.com/f/tzatb-manna-house
Image Credits
Dominique Munday, Tori Payton
