We have a plan to expand inpatient facilities to help kids and teens in crisis

How it works today

It’s 2 a.m. and 16-year-old Josiah is on the brink of suicide. He needs help now. His dad takes him to the emergency department (ED) at Children’s Colorado. But there are no hospital rooms available for kids and teens who are experiencing a mental health emergency. For at least four months every year, the inpatient unit for psychiatric emergencies at Children’s Colorado operates at 100 percent capacity.

Josiah is added to a waiting list.

General psychiatry – inpatient numbers

Four thousand kids like Josiah come to the Children’s Colorado ED for psychiatric emergencies every year. But because of existing barriers to care, some kids never even make it to an ED. Suicide is a leading cause of death among Colorado young people ages 10-24.

How we will get there

You can help to make sure more kids and teens who are experiencing a mental health crisis have access to care.

We are redesigning our Pediatric Mental Health Institute to add inpatient rooms which will allow us to treat significantly more kids and teens.

You can help make this a reality.