Kids’ Minds Matter continues effort to assist children stuggling with mental, behavioral issues
Just knowing there’s someone to talk to can be all it takes to save a life.
Over the past few years and compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health issues, especially in youth that have had their worlds turned upside down, have grown and are affecting more children than ever.
Founded in 2016, Kids’ Minds Matter is a unified movement in Southwest Florida dedicated to advancing pediatric mental and behavioral health services. By developing clinical pathways to screen and treat patients, enhancing public awareness through education, and lobbying for systemic change and sustainable funding, Kids’ Minds Matter, managed through the Lee Health Foundation, aims to align mental health providers, local agencies, the judicial system, law enforcement, schools and faith-based organizations.
With May being mental health awareness month, local health leaders presented a town hall meeting this week to detail available services for area youth, and the impact mental health issues can have on developing minds.
“We feel it’s an important time to address what’s going on in our community and address the mental health crisis that we are in fact facing,” said Lee Health President and CEO Dr. Larry Antonucci.
Kids’ Minds Matter held a virtual event last year titled “Unmasking the Epidemic” that delved into the growing number of youths experiencing mental health challenges. Since that event, progress has been made, but the fight is not over.
“Even with all that’s been done this year, we still see alarming numbers that bring us together today united in our priorities; and that’s the mental health and well-being of our children and families,” Antonucci said.
Alyssa Bostwick, Chief Nursing and Operations executive, Golisano Children’s Hospital, said prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, their team was aware of a growing need for youth mental health services. There was a rise in the number of children coming into the emergency department with the intent to harm, and in suicide rates.
“Now, we are two years into the pandemic, and those numbers have only continued to increase,” Bostwick said.
From 2019 to 2021, Golisano has seen a 221% increase in children coming into their hospitals under the Baker Act. Bostwick said this year, her team expects to see 1,254 children under the Baker Act — a 36% increase from last year. On average, three individuals are Baker Acted each day.
“While those numbers are daunting and sobering, each one of those numbers is a child in need as young as the age of 5,” she said.
Bostwick told of a 5-year-old that came into the hospital because he was thinking of harming himself. Staff learned he was contemplating this due to hearing his parents talk about financial struggles, including potentially losing their home and being unable to put food on the table.
“This little 5-year-old internalized that and said, ‘What can I do to help?’ And he landed on, ‘Maybe if I wasn’t here, they wouldn’t have such a burden.’ And that’s what bought him into our emergency department under the Baker Act,” Bostwick said.
Additionally, outpatient visits have also increased. In 2017, Golisano had roughly 1,1000 visits to its mental health department. Bostwick said this year, it’s anticipated they will see roughly 18,000 — a more than 1,600 percent increase in the last six years.
In 2021, the facility had a wait list of more than 600 pediatric patients waiting for mental health services. Bostwick said thanks to the generosity of the community, dedication of its team and the growth of mental health services, that list is now less than 90 long.
Dr. Emad Salman, Regional Medical Director, Golisano Children’s Services, said the mental health crisis is certainly real, and has only been exacerbated by the pandemic. The system has had to up the number of providers, from six in 2016 to 37 in 2022. They now have 24 social workers in their emergency department with 24/7 care. They have added psychologists in several of their specialty offices.
“We’ve found over the years that children with chronic illnesses — be it diabetes, cancer, cystic fibrosis — have an increased need for psychological services,” Salman said. “Our plan is to continue to do this with other chronic illnesses, that way those kids will get the services they need sooner, rather than at a time when they reach a crisis point.”
Golisano has added inpatient care navigators, and have several navigators in the school system. Its team recently completed a therapeutic crisis intervention training, so they can handle patients who are acting up and be better prepared to take care of incidents.
“We’re taking steps to grow as this community continues to grow as well,” Salman said. “We’ve trained a behavior response team. We plan to become an autism certified center over the next year — one of the few in the state. We’re expanding our services to take care of patients as close to home as possible.”
New locations for Lee Health psychological services over the next year include Cape Coral, Lehigh Acres and Bonita Spring. They hope to add a second location in Cape Coral in two years’ time.
“We’re barely scratching the surface even though we’ve gone and increased the number of services available by over 500 percent,” Salman said. “We’re just seeing the tip of the iceberg. We’ll continue to try and meet the needs of this community and to have a full continuum of services for our patients.”
The Mental Health Navigator program was established to provide guidance and resources for families and children facing mental and behavioral health challenges. The goal is to improve the educational outcomes and the functioning of these children and families, and can be found here: https://kidsmindsmatter.com/mental-health-navigators/.
“This specialized program is specifically for the most challenged children and families who are referred from the schools and have not responded to school-based interventions or interventions through the healthcare network,” said Richard Keelan, Child Advocacy Program Manager at Golisano Children’s Hospital. “Ideally, every school in Lee and Collier county would have a mental health navigator, but expansion of the program is limited by financial support — currently this is not reimbursed and is fully supported through Kids’ Minds Matter.”
Success from the program and Kids’ Minds Matter from one month after the pandemic until now include: helping more than 150 families, improved grades for students by 15%, math grades by 12%, and improved attendance by 55%.
“We bring all of those child servicing agencies together to grow in the same direction, and always with the family present, so it’s that family’s plan,” Keelan said. “Instead of telling families what they need, we ask them what they need and how we can make their lives better.”
They connect parents to mental health services, they help to provide transportation, they help complete applications for housing, financial assistance and school enrollment. They help families access local food resources.
“We work with the whole family, not just with the identified children,” Keelan said.
On Thursday, more than 40 mental health agencies and vendors gathered for the third annual Mental Health Fair to provide information on mental and behavioral health resources in our community. Mental health providers and counselors were in attendance to learn how they can utilize these resources to help care for their patients.
The event, which was sold out, is designed to provide mental health providers with access to experts and leading mental health organizations from around the state and country.
The health fair covered both adult and children’s mental health.
Officials said to make real world changes and improve outcomes for our Southwest Florida children, visibility and representation matter. They encouraged the public to reach out to elected officials and ask them about legislative action to support pediatric mental and behavioral health care services: https://kidsmindsmatter.com/advocate/legislative-action/.
For more information, please visit KidsMindsMatter.com or call 239-214-0921.
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To reach CJ HADDAD, please email cjhaddad@breezenewspapers.com