Child & Adolescent Behavioral Health Unit
Why is there a need?
 

For over 15 years Wolfson Children’s Hospital has been in the forefront of providing mental health services to children and families.  Wolfson is the only community provider that offers the full continuum of services and offers programs for both children and adolescents.  Yet the need and range of mental health services continue to grow both within our behavioral health settings, as well as throughout the children’s hospital.   The 2008-2009 funding target will be the new eleven bed Behavioral Health Unit.  Behavioral Health currently has three full-time psychiatrists who work exclusively with children and adolescents.  Our team of behavioral health specialists collaborate with other services within Wolfson to address mental health issues that may arise in complex medical cases.  In addition, we offer educational programs to help address the psychological issues children face when struggling with challenges such as childhood obesity, chronic illness, bullying, stress, peer pressure, violence, loss and bereavement.  Education, early intervention and removing the stigma of reaching out for help are keys to guiding children and families to hope and possibilities.

In order for Wolfson Children’s Hospital to provide the best care for our children, the hospital must continue to respond to the complexity and scope of mental health care needs children face in our world.  Our mental health care professionals are often asked, “How do you know we are making a difference?”  Although the measurement of emotional and mental healing cannot be quantified in the same way as other health issues children experience, there are scientific outcome measures that are significant.  And metaphorically speaking, if our programs help change the course of a child’s life by one degree, imagine the change in destination over a lifetime.

In the 21st century caring for children’s mental health needs is increasingly complex.  Numerous factors contribute to this complexity and various sources identify the scope of needs:

  • At the beginning of this century the Surgeon General held a conference on Children’s Mental Health: Developing a National Action Agenda.  At that time health care professionals identified a public crisis in mental healthcare for infants, children and adolescents. 
  • Statistics from the National Mental Health Information Center indicate one in ten children and adolescents suffer from mental illness severe enough to cause some level of impairment.   When untreated mental illness can lead to school failure, family conflicts, drug abuse, violence and the tragedy of losing a child to suicide. 
  • The World Health Organization notes that by the year 2020 childhood neuropsychiatric disorders will rise proportionately by over 50 percent, internationally, to become one of the five most common causes of morbidity, mortality and disability among children.
  • While Florida is the 4th largest state, it is ranked 48th in per capital mental health spending.  Northeast Florida receives the least resources in comparison to other areas in Florida.
How many children will be helped?
 
The doors of Wolfson Children’s Hospital are wide open for every child.  The Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health Unit is divided into two parts: one for patients ages six to 11 years old and another for patients ages 12 to 17 years old.  Our inpatient program has over 500 admissions each year.  Patients in the unit are experiencing acute emotional problems that disrupt their ability to function in life.  A partial hospitalization program allows children to receive therapy during the day without staying overnight.  Our partial hospitalization program, originally designed to be a step-down program for children discharged from inpatient services, has expanded to include an eating disorder program, week long summer day programs for children struggling with weight management, as well as parenting education programs and a developing partnership with the cardiology clinic to provide nutritional and psychosocial support to children with cardiac conditions, diabetes and cancer.