By Debra Jasper
and Spencer Hunt
Enquirer Columbus Bureau
The number of mentally ill children in crisis is at record levels in Greater Cincinnati, with more mentally ill children admitted to the psychiatric unit at Children's Hospital Medical Center than to any similar hospital in the country in 2002.
"When they hit that crisis stage, they've got to go somewhere, and we're it," says Dr. Mike Sherbun, senior clinical director in the division of child psychiatry at Children's.
All told, 1,698 children were hospitalized at Children's for psychiatric emergencies that year - more than twice the number of children admitted to any similar pediatric hospital nationwide. Akron Children's Hospital Medical Center ranked second, with 770 admissions.
Dr. Mike Sorter, director of the division of child psychiatry, says the numbers are high because Greater Cincinnati parents have few options. A severe shortage of psychiatrists here and across the state means children routinely wait three months or longer just for an office visit.
There are other barriers as well. Karla Morgan, a nurse who manages the hospital's evaluation center, says space is available at local day treatment programs and the hospital's new psychiatric facility at College Hill, but families struggle to get county funding to send kids there. "It's very frustrating," she says.
When kids don't get help or turn violent, uncontrollable or deeply depressed, desperate parents often show up in local emergency rooms.
"There are a lot of obstacles and hoops that parents go through and even then the resources just don't exist to help their kids," Sorter says. "To be honest, the kids who end up getting treatment are the ones with the toughest advocates."
Even when parents can get children hospitalized, the struggle is just beginning for many families. Private health insurance plans commonly limit the number of days spent in hospitals or at private treatment facilities each year to 20 or 30 days - regardless of the child's needs.
"We call insurance policies the 30-day cure," says Penny Wyman, director of the Ohio Association of Child Caring Agencies. "The problem is you need a child to stay at these centers for a lot longer."
