‘Alarming Level' of Children Seek Mental Health Care, Some Endure Long Waits

Workforce shortages in behavioral health have left hundreds of patients in limbo, waiting in the emergency rooms of Massachusetts hospitals until they can receive treatment at behavioral health inpatient facilities.

Children's hospitals facing capacity challenges with a surge in respiratory illnesses are strained for space as dozens of young people seek mental health help in emergency rooms.

"Children should not have to wait days and weeks and sometimes months to access appropriate care," said Amara Anosike, director of behavioral health policy and advocacy for Boston Children’s Hospital.

Anosike said children in need of help are "boarding" at emergency departments, waiting for a behavioral health inpatient bed.

"They’re in a catch-22 where they are arriving to our emergency department too acute to go home and wait for treatment, so they have to remain in a noisy and crowded environment that is not necessarily designed for therapeutic intervention until that placement becomes available," she explained.

The latest weekly report by the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association counted 581 behavioral health patients boarding in emergency departments across the state — 76 were pediatric patients.

"Behavioral health care has not been invested into the same level as other medical needs," said Anosike. "There are workforce needs all across the continuum of care for behavioral health. There are not enough providers, and because of that, there are placements that are not available for the kids that need services in the inpatient psychiatric unit."

According to MHA, 20% of the state's licensed psychiatric beds are offline solely due to staffing shortages. The association's most recent survey of hospitals found some of the barriers to filling vacancies include competitive pay and safety concerns.

In August, Gov. Charlie Baker signed the Mental Health ABC Act, creating a number of provisions to address access to behavioral health treatment, including the establishment of more than 300 new inpatient psychiatric beds.

In October, the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office announced a $2.9 million grant program to support programs that connect patients in need of urgent mental health care to treatment without needing to go through a hospital's ER.

"We've seen some great diversion programs that have worked, where families are getting some support, but we really need the funds to come to the community and not to be held up," said Meri Viano of the Parent Professional Advocacy League. "We need the funds to come now. Families need other families to help them strengthen and be able to do OK."

The league advocates for mental health support for families.

"We need the community to be able to respond in the community, and that's of dire need, immediately, to be able to shift," Viano said. "There's a lot more families that are going to be coming forward. So we need to deal with this crisis immediately."