Inside Pediatrics Fall/Winter 2024

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH

COMPASSION, COMMUNICATION AND CARE: three words that sum up what behavioral health professionals offer to their patients. Since the onset of the mental health crisis, they’ve had to add another “c” to their repertoire— creativity. It’s been a crucial characteristic these last few years, and for Children’s of Alabama, it’s the rudder that has steered the department’s growth and development. A CREATIVE APPROACH TO BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES As the crisis progressed, it plunged behavioral health professionals into uncharted waters. Scores of new patients were seeking services, and many providers felt overwhelmed. Faced with an inundation of children and adolescents in need, they were forced to answer a key question: What can we do to help all these struggling young people? The hospital’s Behavioral Health Ireland Center already offered traditional services, such as its inpatient, outpatient and partial hospitalization programs. And while those were great, they wouldn’t be enough in this emerging new era. Children’s would need to tailor its services to fit a more diverse set of needs.

“ It’s all about our ability to meet as many patient needs as possible.

“Our goal here is to try to be creative and look at the way that we’re offering services from a different lens to see if there’s an opportunity to increase access for patients,” said Brandy Reeve, associate vice president of Behavioral Health Services at Children’s. “At the end of the day, it’s all about our ability to meet as many patient needs as possible.”

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