Inside Pediatrics Fall/Winter 2024

When the mental health crisis began, Children’s of Alabama behavioral health professionals responded by adding services designed to meet patients where they are. As a result, the hospital now offers a comprehensive array of both traditional and unique services .

Inpatient and Outpatient Care For high-acuity patients, Children’s offers a 44-bed inpatient unit staffed by psychiatrists, mental health therapists, nurse practitioners and others. These professionals follow the patients during their admission, which often includes group therapy and medication management. Lower-acuity patients are cared for in one of Children’s two outpatient locations, where they may be seen by psychologists, mental health therapists or psychiatrists, depending on their needs. Many patients attend therapy sessions, which may start as frequently as once a week but can be spaced out over time. This is determined by the patient’s treating provider. “It really varies based on the patient’s needs, but typically for those two spaces—both inpatient and outpatient—it is dependent upon the acuity and individual needs of the patient,” Reeve said. Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) Some patients need a level of care that falls somewhere between inpatient and outpatient. For them, Children’s offers the PHP—a day treatment program that helps patients who now require less intense treatment and are able to step down from an acute inpatient unit. This program can also be a great option for patients seen in the outpatient setting who need to step up in the intensity or frequency of therapy provided. The program is for patients 12 to 18 years old and resembles a typical school day, running from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. It involves intense group therapy sessions with other patients in the same age group. “They learn coping mechanisms and how

to deal with the everyday stress that our adolescent population often faces,” Reeve said. Patients also have time to keep up with schoolwork, spending at least one hour on academics each day. For many patients, the PHP eases the transition from the rigors of inpatient care back to the less intense outpatient care. “Going from having structure 24 hours a day to only having one hour of therapy a week—that’s a big difference for a child,” Reeve said. “And so that is why I think the evidence shows that this is so successful and is such a needed robust program within our state.” Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) Just as the PHP was created to fill the gap between inpatient and outpatient services, the brand-new IOP is meant to help these young patients make another crucial step—back to normal living. The program, which opened in August 2024, is an extension of the PHP and designed to help patients adapt to daily life. Like the PHP, it serves adolescents ages 12 to 18, but it runs three hours a day, three days a week—from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m., similar to an after-school program. The less frequent, less intensive schedule is its main distinction from the PHP. But both programs have the same staff support, including psychiatrists, therapists, nurses and other mental health clinicians. The IOP also coordinates a variety of community resources for patients and families that help adolescents build a comprehensive support network to enhance treatment outcomes. “The IOP is a natural progression to our efforts to reduce the time we’re removing a child from a home environment,” program manager Lauren Byrd, MS, LPC, said, “and helping them meet their goals in the least disruptive, least traumatic way possible.”

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