U.S. surgeon general warns of youth mental health crisis exacerbated by pandemic
NH officials say children often stuck in emergency rooms waiting for mental health beds
NH officials say children often stuck in emergency rooms waiting for mental health beds
NH officials say children often stuck in emergency rooms waiting for mental health beds
The U.S. surgeon general is calling attention to the mental health crisis among young people in America by issuing an advisory, saying an already significant issue has been made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last month, the American Academy of Pediatrics declared a state of emergency over child and adolescent mental health concerns. Tuesday's advisory says that before the pandemic, 1 in 5 children ages 3 to 17 in the United States had a mental, emotional, developmental or behavioral disorder.
Additionally, early estimates show more than 6,600 suicide deaths among people ages 10-24 in 2020 alone.
In New Hampshire, mental health officials said the pandemic has made matters worse in many ways, specifically when it comes to inpatient treatment, with children and their families stuck in emergency rooms waiting for available beds.
"The good news is that youth and their families are reaching out for help. The bad news is that our capacity to provide that help is limited," said Ken Norton, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness New Hampshire. "We've seen since the start of the pandemic the number of children waiting on an average day for an inpatient bed more than triple."
In an attempt to address the problem, the state is moving to purchase Hampstead Hospital and its campus to provide several services for children's mental health, including inpatient care.
Clinical psychologist Dr. Laura Landerman-Garber said the pandemic took away "the structure, the predictability, the consistency that our kids know." She said it is important for parents or caregivers to be attentive and help provide the balance kids need.
"We are the grown-ups. We need to provide compassion. We need to provide an ear, an eye open. We need to be listening," Landerman-Garber said.
If you or a loved one needs to talk to someone immediately, New Hampshire's suicide prevention lifeline is 1-800-273-8255.