Pine Rest’s new Grand Rapids facility gives kids a mental health alternative to the ER, including Michigan’s first Pediatric Psychiatric Urgent Care Center.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — Wednesday marked the grand opening of the new Pine Rest Pediatric Center of Behavioral Health. It’s a full facility to help children through mental health care.
The need for such a space was realized after the growing need for pediatric behavioral health care, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Kids were suffering more,” said William Sanders, chief medical officer at Pine Rest. “There were more difficulties with suicidality, depression, anxiety. All of those things just increased. And so, the need grew.”
The new facility includes Michigan’s first Pediatric Psychiatric Urgent Care Center. The goal is to reduce patients going to the emergency department at hospitals for mental health crises, or avoid children getting to a crisis point.
“Unfortunately, there’s just a lack of providers in the community to see kids soon enough in an outpatient setting,” said Kyle Hoffmaster, director of patient access. “The ability for parents to bring their kids without having to call ahead, without having to schedule an appointment where they can see a social worker, they can see a psychiatrist start medications, change your medications can avoid that crisis from getting to that point in the first place.”
The new facility includes 66 inpatient beds, expanded special assessments and treatment, specialists in multiple disciplines like speech, physical and occupational therapists, an eating disorder partial hospitalization program and more.
The entire building is designed with children in mind. It is built to look like children are walking into the hollow of a tree in a forest.
With the need growing during the pandemic, many families were seeking care for children with mental health crises in other places.
“At one point at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, we had 40 kids admitted in the hospital for psychiatric and behavioral care because there were simply not enough beds in the community,” said Dr. Robert Fitzgerald, president of Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital. “40 children. Our teams at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital did extraordinary work. They showed compassion. They kept the kids safe. But it was not the right setting. It was not designed for therapeutic behavioral care. It’s not what these kids deserved.”
The Pediatric Center of Behavioral Health will begin inpatient admissions and urgent care visits on Monday, March 23. Outpatient appointments and the partial hospitalization program services will begin March 30.
The facility also has specialized care for patients with autism spectrum disorder and neurodevelopmental disorders.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer attended the grand opening, commenting that the state helped fund $50 million toward the facility through two budgets.
“There are not enough mental health beds anywhere in America right now,” said Whitmer. “The strain that kids are feeling is higher than ever before, and so that’s why making sure that the state was a big participant in the opening of Pine Rest, this new facility, was really important. We could use 10 times as many though, all across the state, all across the country, but this community has put forth this effort. I think it’s going to be a model for others.”
The new hospital also includes the state’s first Ronald McDonald House Family Room in a behavioral health hospital setting.
Also, look out for Sully, the facility dog, helping patients during their stay.