CMHC works on behalf of children and families in the Commonwealth and ensures their voices are heard.
716 psych patients are stuck in emergency rooms waiting for care, Mass. report shows
WBUR: October 11, 2021
Some patients say boarding makes their anxiety, depression and other mental health problems worse. Lisa Lambert, executive director at the Parent/Professional Advocacy League, says adding data to the stories about patients languishing in ERs will illustrate the scope of the problem and help push needed changes.
Bill Elevates Focus on Mental Health in Schools
WBUR Edify: June 17, 2021
Prior to the pandemic, we did not have enough services in our schools, nor in our hospitals to address the growing crisis of children’s mental health needs,” Decker said. ” … Because we have not adequately provided families, students, and schools with the tools to meet the needs of our adolescents and youth’s mental health, it grows into a crisis.
Why children are waiting days, even weeks for critical mental health care
WCVB Channel 5 Boston: June 15, 2021
“Boarding,” when a child is admitted to the ER or a hospital room while waiting for an available mental health treatment spot, is on the rise in Massachusetts.
For pediatric mental health patients, days stuck in the ER
Commonwealth Magazine: May 31, 2021
Nancy Scannell of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children said as the pandemic forced schools to shut down to in-person learning and curtailed home-based services, students who were getting behavioral health services in school or at home lost them. Kids getting outpatient therapy had appointments cancelled.
The Children’s Mental Health campaign — an advocacy campaign run by Boston Children’s Hospital, the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, and other health care organizations –has laid out a legislative agenda that includes several bills to address boarding.
No Vacancy: How A Shortage Of Mental Health Beds Keeps Kids Trapped Inside ERs
WBUR: May 17, 2021
Emergency rooms are not typically places you check in for the night. If you break an arm, it gets set and you leave. If you have a heart attack, you won’t wait long for a hospital bed. But if your brain is not well, and you end up in an ER, there’s a good chance the crisis will become getting stuck there.
Return to Schools in Mass. is a process of push and pull
Boston Globe: March 10, 2021
“We must prioritize our students by providing timely, direct access to community-based mental health services.”
MassLive.com: March 4, 2021
The Roadmap lays the foundation for an effective system of behavioral health urgent care in the Commonwealth, providing children and families with support and resources they need to prevent and manage mental health crises, while also reducing strain on EDs. The Roadmap’s proposal aligns with a model of behavioral health urgent care developed by the Children’s Mental Health Campaign over the past few years.