>>Kaweah Health builds county’s first mental health hospital for youth

Kaweah Health’s Mental Health Hospital will add a fourth wing to provide psychiatric services for children and adolescents 18 years and younger.

The new 22-bed wing will serve up to 684 youths in its first year, which is anticipated for 2025.

“Sadly, one of the downfalls of the pandemic was that it brought an exponential rise in the need for mental health services for both children and adults,” said Gary Herbst, Kaweah Health Chief Executive Officer. “There are very few inpatient adolescent psychiatric hospitals in the Valley, so it is wonderful that we will have this for our community.”

The mental health hospital at 1100 S. Akers St. will dedicate 14 beds for teenagers and eight for children regardless of insurance or financial status, meaning they will not get turned down for mental health services.

They will work with psychiatrists, licensed therapists, registered nurses, and psychiatric technicians for health education and other mental health services such as therapy and psychosocial assessments.

The new wing is paid for by an $8.5 million grant from the ​​Department of Health Care Services Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program. According to Kaweah Health officials, 20% of children living in Tulare County experience a mental health crisis a year, with one in three never receiving care or mental health services.

“There is a huge need for child mental health services in the Valley. Now, we will be able to provide these services right here in our own backyard,” said Cory D. Jaques, a child, and adolescent psychiatrist and program director of Kaweah Health’s Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship.

Due to the high demand for mental health services, the wing will first offer preferential access to children in Tulare County. Kaweah Health will contract with Tulare County Mental Health Services to admit children and adolescents.

Natalie Bolin, the mental health deputy director for Tulare County’s Health & Human Services Agency (HHSA), said she’s excited about the new partnership with Kaweah Health.

“We value our partnership with Kaweah Health and all our community service providers. We are excited about the build-out of youth inpatient psychiatric beds and the additional children’s crisis stabilization unit awarded through a separate state grant,” Bolin said. “Together, we can continue to provide innovative and quality services to youth and adults in Tulare County.”

This is the second grant Kaweah Health received this year. HHSA and Kaweah Health were awarded a $4.9 million grant early this year for a child and adolescent Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU), which will open this upcoming summer in Visalia. The 12-bed, 24/7 CSU will provide crisis intervention services for people 21 years old or younger.

“Children who need care are currently brought to the emergency room when they are in crisis. The ER can be a relatively chaotic place and relatively scary, especially for younger children,” Jaques said. “These two projects will change child mental health here in Tulare County.”

Bolin noted that children also have to seek services outside the county due to the previous lack of resources in the Valley but rarely get admitted.

“The lack of inpatient psychiatric beds for youth experiencing psychiatric crises, where they might pose a risk to themselves or others, is a statewide crisis. Currently, if a youth from Tulare County needs this type of care, we rely on psychiatric hospitals across the state,” Bolin said. “However, there is often difficulty getting timely access because other counties are also trying to get these same beds.”

Kaweah Health currently offers adolescent therapy at its Exeter, Lindsay, and Dinuba clinics. Kaweah Health’s Mental Health Hospital also offers adult inpatient psychiatric services.

This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Kaweah Health builds county’s first mental health hospital for youth