'Mental health crisis' causing surge in youth ER visits at Cincinnati Children's

• Cincinnati Children's has experienced a high volume of kids in ERs for mental health conditions.
• If your child doesn't have an emergency, call psychiatric intake at 513-636-4124 for assessment and proper care.
• For emergencies, go to the ER 24/7, call 911 or 988, the hospital urges.

Cincinnati area children and teenagers who are struggling with mental health conditions are showing up in large numbers at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center emergency departments for help.

The hospital posted an alert Jan. 18 on its website saying that emergency departments are seeing a periodic "high volume" of patients presenting with mental health concerns at its main Burnet campus in Avondale and Liberty campus in Butler County.

The pop-up notification to those who go to CincinnatiChildrens.org encourages anyone whose child is experiencing an emergency or needs immediate help to come to the emergency departments or call 911. It also notes people with emergencies can call 988, the nationwide suicide and crisis line.

If a child is not experiencing an emergency, the notice says, families and patients are encouraged to call the hospital's psychiatric intake response center to discuss assessment options for the proper level of care needed. The phone number is 513-636-4124.

The surge in requests for help is believed to stem from a youth mental health crisis in the Cincinnati area that reflects a nationwide mental health crisis.

Mental health concerns range from depression to suicidal ideation

No particular mental health condition is triggering the emergency department visits, said Dr. Courtney Cinko, Cincinnati Children's medical director of emergency psychiatry. "People are showing up with a large range of mental health crises." They include: worsening depression, anxiety, unsafe behaviors toward others and suicidal ideation, she said.

Cincinnati Children's does not release intake or visitor numbers, but Cinko said the label "high volume" means the emergency departments are seeing more patients with these crises than usual for the time of year.

Wait times throughout the community are high for all mental health services, "which can cause worsening illness in our youth who cannot access treatment in a timely manner," Cinko said.

More: 1 in 3 kids here want to be aloneWhat is Hope Squad? Local kids lean on each other for mental health help

Greater Cincinnati situation reflects nationwide youth mental health crisis

The Cincinnati area's situation is a regional manifestation of the high level of mental health concerns among kids across the nation.

"There is a mental health crisis in this population," Cinko said, "and we are all just scratching the surface as to what this means."

The COVID-19 pandemic compounded mental health troubles for kids, and from from March 2020 to October 2020, mental health–related emergency department visits jumped 24% for children ages 5 to 11 and 31% for kids 12 to 17 compared with 2019 emergency department visits, according to CDC data.

In December 2021, the U.S. Surgeon General reported the youth mental health crisis in a nationwide advisory. The report said kids in the country were experiencing "an alarming increase" in mental health conditions and encouraged a variety of ways to address the issue, from Medicaid enrollment for kids who need the insurance, to school-based and clinical interventions to community organizations educating people about the value of good mental health.

"The most difficult part of this mental health crisis is getting the appropriate levels of care for our struggling youth," Cinko said.

"The youth mental health treatment infrastructure is currently stressed beyond capacity," Cinko said. "Cincinnati Children’s and all of our community mental health partners are running at full steam to try to address the increased demand for treatment."

More: What to look for in your childSymptoms of mental health problems in children

Kids' mental health is 2023 priority for health equity and advocacy nonprofit

Interact for Health is making youth mental health a priority in its five-year strategy, to be released Feb. 21 at a gathering, "A Journey to Health Justice," at the Freedom Center. The nonprofit's service area includes 20 counties in Greater Cincinnati, and provides grants, research and more to address health needs.

"There’s no question that our community is facing a growing crisis in youth mental health," said Interact for Health President and CEO Kate Schroder, in response to an Enquirer request for a statement. "We see it in the increase in emergency department visits, in the long waiting lists for treatment, in survey data, and most of all in the voices and stories of kids who are struggling ‒ and the parents who are desperate to help them."

"It’s going to take a community-wide effort to make a difference," she said.

Interact for Health plans to call for grants in the spring to support youth mental health efforts. Schroder said that the grants will focus on the need for a strengthened workforce, expand school-based prevention and treatment services and improve access to culturally competent care for those with low incomes or in rural areas and people who are Black, Latino or LGBTQ youth, all of whom experience disparities in care.

Young people will help the foundation identify ways to improve mental health, Schroder said, adding, "We believe those closest to the problems are also closest to the solutions."