The expansion of the Crisis Center will double assessment capacity for Dayton Children, and the new space will allow for co-location of Crisis Services with other behavioral health acute services, according to the PDAC filing.
The Dayton Child Crisis Center will increase from 7 to 12 beds, and the Behavioral Health Unit will increase from 24 to 48 beds. A crisis center functions like the emergency department of a behavioral health department, but the center only deals with mental and behavioral health problems.
According to Dayton Children’s, behavioral health is the healthcare crisis of this generation. A survey conducted during the pandemic found that 17% of high school students and 19% of middle school students in Clark County reported having attempted suicide, Blankenship said. Data were not available for Montgomery County.
“We still get children who come to our hospital with the idea of committing suicide very consistently. Because there is,” said Blankenship.
In September, the hospital said 900 children were admitted to Dayton Children’s Hospital for depression and suicidal ideation this year. Blankenship previously told Dayton Her Daily Her News that when children leave the unit, one in seven will return in about 30 days.
The Crisis Center’s expansion has a budget of $5.9 million, according to the PDAC filing. About $1.9 million is in hospital funding. Dayton Children’s has already received a $2 million donation from CareSource, a Dayton-based insurance and managed care provider. The donation was also made in honor of Jada Grant, daughter of Anthony Grant, a men’s basketball coach at the University of Dayton, and his wife, Christina. Jayda passed away in May 2022.
Children face many stressors that contribute to poor mental and behavioral health, including social isolation, bullying, and maladaptive coping mechanisms. As Blankenship said, social media doesn’t help either. Social media fosters isolation, fosters maladaptive coping mechanisms and suicidal thoughts as normal behaviour, and also leads to an increase in bullying.
“We know that serious bullying via social media is on the rise throughout the pandemic,” said Blankenship.
Dayton Children’s provides resources for parents and guardians through its program, On Our Sleeves. Parents can sign up for free on the hospital’s website and receive kits and monthly newsletters to help parents connect and talk with their children.
“Once children start communicating, they feel more comfortable talking about mental health issues,” says Blankenship. “It’s really big for kids to be able to communicate openly with their parents.”
By numbers:
According to Dayton Children:
- From 2020 to 2021, children hospitalized for mental health increased by 163% nationwide.
- From 2019 to 2021, the number of emergency department visits for suicide attempts among adolescent girls increased by 51% nationwide.
- About 17% of high school students and 19% of middle school students in Clark County reported having attempted suicide, according to a survey conducted during the pandemic.
- About 33% of high school students say they feel more unhappy or depressed than usual.
- About 71% of parents report that the pandemic has hit their children’s mental health.
