BIRMINGHAM, AL — In response to the growing demand for child and adolescent mental health care, Children’s of Alabama has announced the expansion of its Inpatient Behavioral Health Services. The expansion includes 11 additional inpatient beds, set to open this month, aimed at increasing access to crucial behavioral health care for young patients.
“With this addition, we will be able to meet the needs of patients who can actively participate in the therapy-focused milieu,” said Bonnie Moore, Director of Nursing at the Behavioral Health Inpatient Center. “This unit will ensure a supportive environment for these patients to begin to heal, grow, and develop coping strategies. By providing this space, we will empower these patients to understand their emotions, develop coping skills, and set a foundation for lifelong mental and emotional health.”
The new 11-bed unit will primarily serve patients between the ages of 12 and 18 and will focus on evidence-based dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) and other behavioral interventions. A key component of the program is patient and family involvement, allowing families to actively support their child’s progress. Patients will receive ongoing coaching from therapists, nurses, and support staff to practice and implement coping skills throughout their admission.
Children’s of Alabama has significantly expanded its behavioral health services over the past decade to meet rising mental health needs. Current programs include:
The need for expanded inpatient care is underscored by recent statistics. In 2024, 43% of behavioral health patients in the Children’s Emergency Department waited more than six hours for an inpatient bed. Additionally, the number of behavioral health visits to the Emergency Department increased by 1,405 cases from 2018 to 2024, while inpatient behavioral health admissions grew by 15% over the same period.
According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2022 Kids Count Data Book, the number of U.S. children aged 3 to 17 experiencing anxiety or depression increased by 25.5% between 2016 and 2022. Experts attribute much of this rise to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which exacerbated mental health struggles among children and adolescents.
Children’s of Alabama’s expanded inpatient unit seeks to reduce wait times and improve access to care, ensuring more young patients receive timely and effective treatment.
Founded in 1911, Children’s of Alabama provides specialized medical care to children from every county in Alabama and nearly every U.S. state. The hospital is ranked among the nation’s best children’s hospitals by U.S. News & World Report and serves as a teaching hospital for the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in pediatric medicine, surgery, psychiatry, and research. As a private, not-for-profit medical center, Children’s of Alabama continues to expand its services to meet the evolving healthcare needs of young patients.
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