What is the importance of New Seasons in the novel, Wintergirls?

New Seasons is the hospital where Lia is sent during her rehabilitation. At the opening of the novel, she had been sent to New Seasons twice, and been released twice. Each time she is there, Lia carefully plays by the rules so that she can be released quickly, gaining just enough weight to be deemed healthy. She knows that the sooner she is released, the sooner she can return home to control her life, her way, once again. The third time Lia enters New Seasons, at the end of the novel, she fully embraces the therapy and starts to get well.