CareSource donates $2 million for behavioral health expansion at Dayton Children's

DAYTON, Ohio (WKEF) -- CareSource has given $2 million to Dayton Children's to finance the construction of a new behavioral health facility. The structure, which was unveiled in May, would almost double the number of inpatient beds accessible to kids experiencing a behavioral health crisis.

The $2 million gift from CareSource was given in Jayda Grant's honor. Jayda is the daughter of University of Dayton men's basketball coach Anthony Grant and his wife Christina. Jayda passed away in May 2022.

Erhardt Preitauer, president and CEO of CareSource, made the announcement Thursday night in front of a group of business executives from the Dayton area.

“The conversation around behavioral health must focus on the well-being of children,” said Preitauer. “Working together to expand the behavioral health resources at Dayton Children’s not only honors the light and love Jayda and her family have brought to our community, it is paramount in addressing the whole health of our youngest community members.”

Even though there were already serious problems with children's mental health before the pandemic, COVID-19 just made things worse. Dayton Children's built a behavioral health inpatient facility in July 2019, however there are still insufficient beds to meet the demand.

Next year, construction will begin on a new behavioral health building that will:

-Double the amount of inpatient beds it currently has for mental health patients

-By combining behavioral health inpatient, outpatient, and crisis services under one roof, it will be possible to expand for the development of specialized programs and ensure stronger and more seamless continuity of treatment

-Provide individualized outdoor space that is essential for healing

-Utilize cross-trained personnel, proximity, and access to improve communication and increase operational efficiencies

"We are so grateful to CareSource for its support and for shining a light on this critically important issue,” said Debbie Feldman, president and CEO of Dayton Children’s Hospital. “This donation will go a long way toward helping us meet the growing need for behavioral health services. As always, it is the gracious support of a generous community that helps us take every project from good to great.”

More than 200,000 CareSource youth members had a behavioral health diagnosis last year.

Anthony and Christina Grant provided the following statement regarding the donation from CareSource on behalf of their family:

“We are very grateful to CareSource for their generous donation to support the expansion of the Dayton Children’s Behavioral Health Facility and their compassion towards our family by honoring the memory of our beloved daughter and sister, Jayda Danielle Grant. Jay was diagnosed with anxiety and depression and was in therapy and treatment at the time of her passing. Our hope is that this expansion will help provide more resources and increased synergy to what Debbie Fieldman has appropriately identified as ‘the health care crisis of this generation.’ We are grateful for the love, prayers, and support we’ve received and for the commitment of the doctors, therapist, corporate & individual partners, and everyone in between that are working to make a difference in the lives of those impacted by Mental & Behavioral Health challenges. Thank you and God Bless.”

Dayton Children’s behavioral health building is anticipated to be finished in 2025.

You are asked to email philanthropy@childrensdayton.org if you would like to make a donation to this worthy cause.