Inside Pediatrics Fall/Winter 2024

The mental health crisis served as that new lens; the team’s response provided the answer that helped to develop a comprehensive approach that benefits not only the hospital and its patients, but also other providers around Alabama. That answer was adding unique services. The team started by adding a service that, at the time, was offered in only two other places across the country. In 2018, they opened the Children’s of Alabama Psychiatric Intake Response Center (PIRC), a call center designed to help adults navigate the mental health care system for their children. In 2021, the team added another unique service, Pediatric Access to Telemental Health Services (PATHS). It uses a three-pronged approach to help primary care providers across the state address their patients’ mental health needs.

has finished their inpatient stay, they will often move to the PHP or IOP until they’re ready for outpatient services. “We find that those programs all intertwine quite nicely to create a sort of a framework

in which we’re able to meet needs across the spectrum of acuity,” Reeve said.

Brandy Reeve, MSN, RN, CPN, CENP

So, what happens if the mental health crisis deepens, and even more patients need the hospital’s help? Children’s is already preparing for that. In March 2023, the hospital opened the Nature Hall, a new 16-bed psychiatric area within the emergency department that provides care for children and adolescents who arrive

in need of mental health services. Construction is already underway on hospital renovations that will add 11 additional inpatient behavioral health beds by February 2025. And PATHS received a HRSA grant for the next three years that the team will use to expand the program by partnering with school systems and rural emergency departments throughout the state. Reeve says she could see all of the programs growing in the future. “The goal is to continue to improve access in whatever unique ways we can find,” Reeve said, “and just be that resource for those that need it that are willing to partner with us in providing care to the patients that we see throughout the state.”

Most recently, in August 2024, the team opened its Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP), a complement to the hospital’s Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP). These two programs work together to help patients with the process of readjusting to normal life after dealing with mental health challenges. The traditional and unique programs fit together seamlessly in a way that allows patients to move from one to another as needed. For example, once a patient

Hear more from Reeve on the Children’s of Alabama PEDSCAST

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