URMC / Golisano Children's Hospital / Ways to Give / Attend an Event / Hospital Gala / Fund-A-Need Fund-A-Need Our Children’s Mental Health Crisis: A National State of Emergency The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Children’s Hospital Association have joined together to declare a national state of emergency in children’s mental health. The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified this crisis. Across the country, the need for a wide variety of mental health services has skyrocketed. We must enhance health promotion and resiliency-building strategies, identify and address mental health issues in children early on, and provide the spectrum of care for children when and where they need us. This requires innovative approaches, new facilities, and expanded services. Our most pressing need is to create an immediate access walk-in center, within the next 12 months on the URMC campus, to provide mental health emergency assessments and interventions, community-wide coordination of youth family crisis services, and develop innovative best practices for crisis intervention. In the midst of a behavioral health crisis, each and every child, youth, and family in upstate New York deserves to have the best life-saving care. Please give generously to this year’s Fund-A-Need. Nationally Suicide is the second leading cause of death for 10 to 18-year olds. Over 60% of youth with major depression do not receive any mental health treatment. Even in states with the greatest access to care, nearly one in three youth go without treatment. 15% of youth experience a major depressive episode in the past year. Multiracial youth are at greatest risk. Regionally Pediatric Behavioral Health and Wellness Outpatient Service receives over 100 new requests weekly for services. Despite expanded capacity, the waitlist for Adolescent Partial Hospitalization is currently longer than it has ever been, with over 160 youth waiting for this level of care. The Monroe County Mobile Crisis team can respond to only 77% of referreals traiged to be appropriate for this service. Support This Year's Fund-a-Need for Golisano Children's Hospital Currently, when families have a child with a mental health crisis, they are often referred to the Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program (CPEP) at Strong Memorial Hospital. Because of regulations established by New York State’s Office of Mental Health (OMH), once in CPEP, patients must stay until they can be evaluated properly by a psychiatrist, a process that can take up to 24 hours during busy times. However, less than 25% of the patients coming to CPEP need this level of service and would be better served by a less acute walk-in option. An immediate access center will give us the ability to more effectively triage those who need inpatient care, intensive outpatient therapy, other outpatient services such as art, music, and drama therapy, school-based mental health services, or a combination of these care programs, and to connect them with those services. Through your participation in this year’s Fund-A-Need, you can propel us toward our $3.5 million goal to create this new center on the URMC campus, dedicated to children and youth. Whether you lead this effort with a gift of $100,000 for a center challenge, one in the $10,000 to $50,000 range, or in the $50 to $5,000 range, you will help us provide the level of care our children need when they need it most. Children around the world are facing a mental health crisis. I am fortunate to live in a community that is rallying together to help us provide the best evidence-based care and services to help our region’s children, youth, and families. —Michael A. Scharf '01M (RES), '03M (FLW) Psychiatrist-in-Chief, Golisano Children's Hospital To participate, please contact Scott Rasmussen at (585) 766-2993 or srasmussen@admin.rochester.edu or Brenda Geglia at (585) 465-9450 or bgeglia@admin.rochester.edu.