Northwell launches $500M expansion of pediatric mental health services

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Northwell Health has announced it is launching a $500 million plan to expand pediatric mental health services for children and teens.

The initiative comes at a time when the need for mental health services for children and teens is increasing “at alarming rates,” according to Northwell.

“For far too long, mental health care has been fraught with stigma and disparities in access, and we are determined to create a new model of care so that every child’s mental wellbeing receives the same care as their physical health,” Dr. Charles Schleien, senior vice president of pediatric services at Northwell, said in a written statement

Nearly one in five children is diagnosed with a behavioral, emotional or mental health disorder in the United States, but only 20 percent of those diagnosed receive specialized treatment, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among children aged 10 to 14 and the third-leading cause among those aged 15 to 24.

Over the next five years, Northwell Health said it will invest $350 million toward capital, programs, services and operating costs. It will also launch a $150 million fundraising campaign to expand pediatric behavioral health services across its footprint. With this initiative, Northwell aims to provide a new model of care at a new 200,000-square-foot center, the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Pavilion.

This center will be connected to Cohen Children’s Medical Center and Zucker Hillside Hospital, Northwell’s adult mental health facility in Queens. It will be designed to fully integrate physical and mental healthcare for children and serve as a destination program for patients across the country. It will also include more than 100 inpatient beds designed for children and adolescents, and serve as a home to specialty ambulatory clinics treating a variety of disorders.

The initiative aims to bring together Northwell’s practices in children’s clinical care, mental health, research, education and medical training to set a new standard for care.

“We treat life-threatening injuries, develop innovative cancer therapies and perform organ transplants, which transform the lives of our patients and their families,” Michael Dowling, Northwell president and CEO, said in a written statement. “But we know mental health is health. Our mission to treat patients fully also includes the mental wellbeing of our young patients.”

Schleien said that the health system is “enhancing our holistic approach and strengthening our continuum of care so that children in need will have access to the very best evidence-based treatments. This investment will break the archaic siloed approach in which physical health is addressed at one facility and mental health at another by fully integrating physical and mental health care for children.”

Through Cohen Children’s Medical Center, Northwell currently operates pediatric behavioral health urgent care centers in Nassau and Suffolk counties. The centers are working directly with Long Island school districts and parents to deliver short-term treatment to young patients while connecting them with long-term assistance when it is needed. Northwell’s school-based programs reach 200,000 students in more than 330 Long Island schools and have reduced emergency room visits for mental health issues by 61 percent.

“Treating mental illness early can save a child’s life,” Dr. John Young, senior vice president of behavioral health at Northwell, said in a written statement. “We must transform care models and fully integrate with pediatric services to care more effectively for children and adolescents facing a behavioral health crisis.”

The new initiative was announced at CitiField, where the health system celebrated Cohen Children’s Medical Center 40th birthday party, which raised $4 million for pediatric mental health services, including a $1 million gift from principal event sponsor the Blumenfeld family.