Urgent Crisis: New Study Confirms Children Languish in ERs During Mental Health Emergencies
Urgent Crisis: New Study Confirms Children Languish in ERs During Mental Health Emergencies
A recent study has revealed a distressing reality: children experiencing mental health crises are frequently spending days, even up to a week, trapped in emergency departments awaiting inpatient care. This alarming practice, known as ‘boarding,’ affects roughly one in ten mental health-related ER visits for children covered by Medicaid nationwide.
Published in JAMA Health Forum, the study highlights that depressive disorders, suicidal thoughts, and attempts are the most common reasons for these extended stays. Lead author John McConnell of Oregon Health and Science University emphasized the severity, stating, “a child shows up at an emergency department with a mental health condition, [and] about one in ten times, they’re staying for three days or longer.” In some states, including North Carolina, Florida, and Maine, this figure skyrockets to 25% of visits resulting in 3-7 day ER detentions.
Experts confirm these findings, noting that while the issue of ER boarding has grown for decades, the surge in pediatric mental health cases has made it particularly acute. Dr. Jennifer Havens of NYU Grossman School of Medicine and Dr. Rebecca Marshall of OHSU, though not involved in the study, underscore the critical lack of inpatient and outpatient psychiatric beds and services for children across the country. This systemic failure forces families to seek help in ERs, which are often ill-equipped to provide specialized pediatric mental health care, lacking dedicated psychiatrists or therapeutic environments.
For children, prolonged confinement in a single, often windowless, ER room without access to exercise, social interaction, or therapeutic activities can exacerbate their conditions. This heartbreaking situation leaves families struggling to find appropriate stabilization for their children, trapped in a system unable to meet the rising demand for youth mental health services.
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