Dayton Children's seeks funding for behavioral health crisis center expansion [Dayton Daily News, Ohio]
Jan. 9—Dayton Children's has plans to spend
The hospital has asked for
Dayton Children's doctors say mental and behavioral health disorders in children were growing concerns even before the pandemic, but the COVID-19 pandemic was like putting gasoline on a fire when it came to rising disorders.
"The rates of mental health disorders have really been climbing since the pandemic, and they continue to stay high even though now that we're out of the pandemic," said Dr.
The hospital's new
The expansion of the crisis center will double Dayton Children's assessment capacity, and the new space will allow for the co-location of crisis services with other behavioral health acute services, according to the PDAC submission.
Dayton Children's crisis center will increase from seven to 12 beds, and the behavioral health unit will go from 24 to 48 beds. The crisis center operates like an emergency department for the behavioral health unit, but they only see mental and behavioral health issues in that center.
Behavioral health is the health care crisis of this generation, according to Dayton Children's. A survey conducted during the pandemic revealed 17% of high school students and 19% of middle school students in
"We are still getting kids, very consistently, coming to our hospital with thoughts of wanting to kill themselves. That's actually the number one reason that any child is admitted to
The hospital said in September that 900 children had been admitted to
The budget for the crisis center expansion is
Kids are facing a number of stressors contributing to mental and behavioral health disorders, including social isolation, bullying, and maladaptive coping mechanisms. Social media isn't helping, either, as Blankenship said it can contribute to isolation, promote those maladaptive coping mechanisms or suicidal thoughts as normal behavior, and also lead to more bullying.
"We know that the severe bullying over social media has increased throughout the pandemic," Blankenship said.
Dayton Children's offers parents and caregivers resources through its program, On Our Sleeves. Parents can sign up for free at the hospital's website and receive kits and monthly newsletters to help parents connect with and talk to their children.
"Once kids start communicating, then they're going to feel safer and better about talking about mental health issues, too," Blankenship said. "It's really huge for kids to be able to have that open communication with their parents."
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By the numbers:
According to Dayton Children's: — There has been a 163% increase in children hospitalized for mental health from 2020 to 2021 across the country. — There was a 51% nationwide increase in emergency department visits for suicide attempts in adolescent girls from 2019-2021. — Approximately 17% of high school students and 19% of middle school students in
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