Inside Pediatrics Spring/Summer 2024

The Psychiatric Intake Response Center (PIRC) at Children’s of Alabama

When Stefanie called, she “got the most reassuring voice on the other end of the line,” she said. Ashley Loftis, the therapist she spoke with, advised her to take Liam to the Children’s Emergency Department. “I think that may have saved my life that night,” Liam said. The call led to a positive turn in what had been a long process for Liam. Stefanie says he started struggling with depression around 3rd grade and was diagnosed that year with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). School closures resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic led to more challenges. “The isolation of being stuck at home was very difficult for him,” Stefanie said. Even when schools reopened, Liam was still struggling and met with school counselors. His pediatrician recommended increasing his ADHD medications, but by early 2022, it was obvious to Stefanie that

The PIRC began as a shared vision between Children’s of Alabama and generous partners in the community. It opened in March 2018 as a free, confidential phone response center linking adult callers to child and adolescent mental health providers. It was the first program of its kind in the Southeast and one of only three nationally at the time.

Since opening, it has served almost 14,000 callers along with 22,000 emergency

more resources were needed. He started seeing a licensed therapist,

department patients. PIRC leaders have also identified more than 1,700 metal health providers and services in Alabama and added them to a database created by PIRC team members. “As the youth mental health crisis has worsened, the PIRC has been positioned and able to educate, support, guide and provide direct mental

PIRC therapist Ashley Loftis (top) with Stefanie and Liam Blakely

and in the fall of that year, his pediatrician put him on a low dose of Zoloft. But he was still dealing with depression and having trouble sleeping. Then came the night of the text message. Initially, it seemed like a low point. “I felt that feeling when

health care statewide,” PIRC director Cindy Jones, MA, LPC-S, NCC, said. “The PIRC has prevented unnecessary visits to the emergency department and provided callers better understanding and access to the right mental health provider and/or treatment.”

you can feel the color just draining from your face into your body,” Stefanie said. Ultimately, however, it became a turning point, leading to changes in Liam’s mental health services. “They gave us the guidance that we needed,” he said. “And I think that may be what started my journey to better mental health.”

For more information about the PIRC, go to ChildrensAL.org/PIRC

One of the next steps in that journey was the Children’s Partial Hospitalization Program, or PHP—

12