2025 Annual Report

MENTAL HEALTH

“This unit ensures a supportive environment for these patients to begin to heal, grow, and develop coping strategies”

BONNIE MOORE, BSN, RN

The primary goals of the expansion were to decrease wait times and increase capacity for inpatient care. The impact is already clear. In 2025, the average time to an available bed decreased by 35% compared to 2024, when 43% of behavioral health patients who presented in the Children’s Emergency Department (ED) waited more than six hours for an available bed in the Children’s inpatient unit. The improvement happened despite a 7% increase in behavioral health- related ED visits and a 45% increase in behavioral health admissions. Children’s of Alabama received 4,730 emergency department visits related to behavioral health concerns in 2025. In 2025, the behavioral health team served patients from all 67 counties in Alabama. The improvements come at a time when behavioral health care is an escalating need in the community. Between 2018 and 2024, behavioral health visits to the Children’s Emergency Department increased by 1,405 visits, while inpatient behavioral health admissions rose by 15%, placing growing pressure on existing inpatient resources.. Nationally, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation 2022 Kids Count Data Book, the percentage of children ages 3 to 17 who had anxiety or depression increased by 25.5% between 2016 and 2022. Much of that growth is attributable to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. ●

1 , 405 Between 2018 and 1024 behavioral health visits to the emergenct department increased by 4 , 730 + visits were made to the emergency department related to behavioral health concerns in 2025

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CHILDREN’S OF ALABAMA | UAB MEDICINE