Akron Children’s Hospital opens expanded in-patient behavioral health unit

AkronAkron Children’s Hospital’s expanded in-patient behavioral health unit features a crisis stabilization unit, where parents can stay with their children and be partners in the therapy they receive.Ted Stevens/Akron Children's HospitalBy Megan Becka, special to cleveland.comAKRON, Ohio – Akron Children’s Hospital this week opened a new, expanded in-patient behavioral health unit.Located on the fifth floor of the Kay Jewelers Pavilion, the unit features 30 beds and has the capacity to expand to 40 beds if needed. The hospital’s previous in-patient behavioral health unit had 24 beds and was located on the eighth floor of the main hospital.“The new unit will not only expand Akron Children’s capacity for inpatient behavioral healthcare, it will reshape how that care is delivered,” Akron Children’s Pediatric Psychiatry Chair Eva Szigethy said in a news release. “This new unit is much more than a larger space with more beds. It’s really reengineering how we provide behavioral healthcare and how we train staff to optimize the safety of our patients in a therapeutic environment.”The increasing need for pediatric behavior health services is the driving force for the expansion, according to the hospital. Over the past year, more than 4,500 youth were seen in the hospital’s emergency department for a behavioral health concern such as anxiety, depression or other behavioral health challenges. And 1 in 4 Akron Children’s pediatric primary care visits involves a behavioral health concern, the hospital said in the release.The unit is designed to help patients who are seen in the emergency room who don’t require a long stay for treatment. The unit features a tiered hospitalization experience with different sub-units and programming for patients ages 5 to 18. Each patient will be assigned to a regular acute care unit, high acute care unit or the crisis stabilization unit, depending on their diagnosis and level of support needed. In the crisis stabilization unit, parents can stay with their children and be partners in the therapy they receive, according to a hospital news release.“The new crisis stabilization unit provides a brief, intensive crisis management for kids who require a short hospitalization, averaging 3-4 days,” Vice Chair of Behavioral Health at Akron Children’s Jason Spivey Sr. said in the release. “This will offer a new care pathway for patients often seen in the emergency room who don’t require a long stay for treatment. The objective is truly, as the name suggests, to give the child and family the crisis management skills they need as well as a few days to prepare at home.”Unit highlights include:Therapeutic architecture that incorporates color and natural light to help reduce stress and promote healingA gym for group activities and exerciseA multimedia roomA sensory stimulation roomA large outdoor spaceTo help children in need, the hospital’s primary care offices also offer mental health therapists, according to the release.Want more Akron news? Sign up for cleveland.com’s Rubber City Update, an email newsletter delivered at 5:30 a.m. Wednesdays.Megan Becka is a freelance reporter covering Akron and Summit County news for cleveland.com. Her work covers a wide range of topics that impact county residents including: government, education, healthcare and...