Rising pediatric mental health demand pushes Cleveland Clinic to expand behavioral healthcare services

As pediatric mental health needs continue rising nationwide, Cleveland Clinic is launching a partial hospitalization program (PHP) aimed at expanding access to behavioral healthcare for children, teens and young adults.

Announced May 4, the program will open at Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital for Rehabilitation in Cleveland in a renovated space designed for these ages with behavioral health challenges. The program is intended for patients who need more support than traditional outpatient therapy but don’t require inpatient hospitalization.

This expansion comes as hospitals and health systems continue seeing increased rates of depression, anxiety and suicide-related concerns among children and teens following the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Children’s Hospital Association and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry declared a national state of emergency in children’s mental health.

According to Cleveland Clinic, rates of depression, anxiety and suicide attempts increased by more than 45% among children and teens after the pandemic. At Cleveland Clinic’s pediatric emergency department, visits from patients younger than 21 seeking mental healthcare increased by nearly 300%.

The new partial hospitalization program is designed to help address gaps between outpatient and inpatient behavioral healthcare services, which health system leaders note can leave families facing long wait times and fragmented care.

“What we see is that many families face fragmented care and long waitlists,” Joe Austerman, D.O., chair of the Department of Pediatric Behavioral Health & Neurosciences at Cleveland Clinic Children’s, said in the announcement. “By strengthening the connection between crisis care, intensive outpatient services and long-term outpatient treatment, it’s our hope that this program will help ensure children and families receive the right level of care at the right time.”

PHPs typically provide structured daytime treatment while allowing patients to return home at night. These programs are increasingly being used by health systems as a middle level of care between weekly outpatient visits and inpatient psychiatric admissions, according to the Clinic.

The health system said the program will provide intensive multidisciplinary treatment and incorporate technologies including virtual reality exposure therapy, AI-assisted emotional regulation therapy and frequency-specific microcurrent therapy.

Health systems and behavioral health providers have quickly adapted to and are exploring digital and technology-supported approaches to mental healthcare as workforce shortages and rising patient demand continue placing pressure on care delivery systems. Behavioral health access remains a major challenge in many parts of the country, especially for pediatric patients.

The program is also part of a larger behavioral health expansion effort at Cleveland Clinic Children’s. For example, other initiatives are currently in planning phases including a mobile intensive intervention team, a suicide prevention center and a behavioral unit within pediatric emergency departments.

“The mental health challenges facing our young people are greater than ever, and if we don’t address them now, the impact will be felt for generations to come,” Ethan Benore, Ph.D., chair of the Division of Pediatric Behavioral Health at Cleveland Clinic Children’s, said in the announcement.

Pediatric emergency departments in the U.S have reported increased behavioral health visits in recent years, contributing to longer wait times and ongoing challenges connecting patients with follow-up services and specialty care. According to the health system, organizations have increasingly began using PHPs as part of broader behavioral health care continuums that include emergency, outpatient and inpatient services.

Cleveland Clinic is one of the nation’s largest nonprofit academic medical centers. The health system includes 23 hospitals and more than 300 outpatient facilities across Ohio, Florida, Nevada, Canada, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.

Cleveland Clinic Children’s pediatric health system includes more than 50 outpatient clinic locations across Northeast Ohio and more than 400 full-time pediatricians and subspecialists. According to Cleveland Clinic, the organization provides more than one million pediatric visits and hospital care for 13,000 children each year.