Children’s Hospital Colorado officials on Tuesday declared “a pediatric mental health state of emergency,” saying their entire system is taxed and experiencing an unprecedented overload of children as young as 8 needing immediate treatment, largely for suicidal thoughts and attempts.
“We’re overrun with kids attempting suicide and suffering from other forms of major mental health illness,” Jena Hausmann, president and CEO of Children’s Hospital Colorado, said Tuesday in a virtual roundtable discussion. “There are so many organizations equally overwhelmed; the sheer magnitude of this situation warrants a different level of support.”
Hausmann issued a “call to action” to Gov. Jared Polis, state lawmakers and agencies to prioritize children’s mental health services, release more funding for suicide prevention and resiliency-building programs, recruit more providers, increase flexibility in the system and reduce bureaucracy in enabling children to access service
A “pediatric mental health state of emergency" has been declared by the Children's Hospital Colorado over a huge spike in mental health crises and suicide attempts due to the "long-term
Hospital leaders at Children's Hospital Colorado called for collaboration and support to address what they say has been an "unprecedented" number of attempted suicides and other severe mental health issues among youth.
Children s Hospital Colorado declares state of emergency for pediatric mental health Molly Bohannon, Fort Collins Coloradoan
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Children’s Hospital Colorado on Tuesday declared a state of emergency regarding pediatric mental health with leadership saying Colorado youths levels of behavioral and mental health problems are outpacing medical problems at an unprecedented rate and the crisis needs to be addressed.
“Right now Colorado’s children uniquely need our help,” said Jena Hausmann, CEO of Children’s Hospital Colorado. “We are seeing our pediatric emergency departments and our inpatient units overrun with kids attempting suicide and suffering from other forms of major mental health illness.”
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