AKRON, Ohio — Akron Children’s Hospital’s new pediatric behavioral health center, opening Tuesday in Canton, is dedicated to teaching coping skills to young people experiencing mental health challenges, the hospital announced Monday.
The $7.5 million Akron Children’s Behavioral Health Canton will offer outpatient therapy programs for children, teens and young adults with conditions such as anxiety, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and other behavioral health concerns, the health system said in a press statement.
The goal is to prevent the need for hospitalization through early screening and intervention, said Dr. Eva Szigethy, director of pediatric psychiatry at Akron Children’s.
“The demand (for behavioral health care) has increased both in our regions and nationally,” Szigethy said. “It is critical for us to tackle problems like anxiety and depression in general and to provide immediate helpful services for families who have a child in a behavioral health crisis.”
Numerous studies suggest that rates of teen depression and anxiety soared during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly 60% U.S. teen girls reported feeling persistently sad or hopeless in 2021—double that of boys — representing the highest level reported over the past decade, according to a recent report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC report also found more than half of LGBQ+ students had recently experienced poor mental health and that 22% attempted suicide in the past year.
While Akron Children’s Behavioral Health Canton does not have inpatient beds, its goal of helping young people avoid hospitalization will help alleviate the shortage of mental health beds in Northeast Ohio.
Cuyahoga County has 220 fewer beds than needed to fully meet residents’ need, according to national guidelines cited by MetroHealth System when it opened its $42 million, 112-bed MetroHealth Cleveland Heights Behavioral Health Hospital last year. Economic pressures and a lack of staff contribute to the undersupply, healthcare experts said.
In Stark County, there are about 60 psychiatric beds across the county, according to state data.
Programs at Canton’s behavioral health center are designed to head off crises that lead to emergency department visits, while also providing support as young people transition back to home and school, the hospital system said.
The Partial Hospitalization Program is an outpatient psychiatric service for patients ages 12 to 18 that uses cognitive behavioral therapy to help stabilize participants and teach coping skills. The program runs all day for up to 10 days, and employs family and group therapy, psychotherapy, art and music therapy, yoga and other therapies.
The Intensive Outpatient Program is offered after school, three hours a day for three days a week. It helps participants improve functioning, develop healthy coping skills and stabilize mood. It can be used by patients who have completed the partial hospitalization program but still need support, Akron Children’s said.
Behavioral health is community’s concern
Akron Children’s community health needs assessment, published in December, found that behavioral health was a top concern. Expanding access to this care is now a strategic priority for the hospital, Akron Children’s said.
To meet that need, the health system is expanding behavioral health services beyond its main campus. The first of Akron Children’s regional behavioral health centers opened in Boardman, on its Akron Children’s Hospital campus, in late 2019. A third will open later this summer in Mansfield., the health system said. All of these centers are for children and teens.
“In meeting with local mental health boards and providers, we’ve learned of their concerns and are responding to particular needs for psychiatric care and medication management,” Szigethy said. “We know how important these services are to patient families and this regional strategy is to bring them closer to home.”
Young people requiring in-patient hospitalization for a behavioral health concerns can still receive treatment at Akron Children’s main campus in Akron.
In addition, Akron Children’s offers behavioral health services at all of its Stark County pediatric primary care offices and the Akron Children’s Health Center in North Canton.
Julie Washington covers healthcare for cleveland.com. Read previous stories at this link.