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Units planned for children

The new West Pines will have units for children as young as 5, teenagers, adults and seniors. One unit will specialize in treating older people dealing with dementia along with grief, depression and mood disorders. Future units, similar to Acadia’s hospitals in other states, might focus on mothers with postpartum depression or people with intellectual disabilities and cooccurring mental health issues.

The groundbreaking for the new hospital comes as UC Health University of Colorado Hospital prepares to open a new 40-bed psychiatric unit this summer.

Even with the $2 million grant, the adolescent crisis stabilization unit in Lakewood will struggle, Kuenzler said.

The unit lost $2.5 million last year, and when accounting for the grant and the costs of increasing capacity, the unit will lose between $1 million and $2 million, she said. Plus, the funding from the American Rescue Plan Act is one-time money.

“We are still struggling to figure out the sustainable funding model,” she said, noting that a 24/7 crisis center has to stay open whether it has two kids or all 16 beds are full on a given day. “We’re hoping there will be more state-level funding over time.

“It would pay off in so many lives saved and so much money saved in the long run.”

New Vistas is a not-for-profit residential facility for children and teens that has operated under a subsidiary of the Jefferson Center called Jefferson Hills.

The mental health center is now absorbing the subsidiary and trying to create a seamless system so kids could easily transition between the crisis stabilization unit and the therapy programs offered at the mental health center.

The stabilization unit in 2015 became part of Colorado Crisis Services, a statewide network of walk-in crisis centers, mobile units and a hotline. The system was created in response to the 2012 mass shooting at an Aurora movie theater. People can access the services regardless of their ability to pay.

Expansion of services, particularly for young people, has never been needed more, Kuenzler said.

In 2021, 53 young people ages 15-18 and 19 people ages 10-14 died by suicide in Colorado, according to the Jefferson Center.

The crisis stabilization unit is seeing younger patients, including a “dramatic increase” in the number of children ages 5-11. The proportion of kids ages 5-11 was once 10-20%. Now, it’s 4060%.

And children and teens referred to the unit have more acute issues than in the past, including more dangerous suicide attempts, Kuenzler said.

“These are really young kiddos,” she said. “We need to do a lot more to invest early and often and with the right resources for behavioral health.

This story is from The Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support The Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com. The Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

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