A Partnership To Fill a Gap in Pediatric Residential Behavioral Health Care

Nationwide Children’s Big Lots Behavioral Health Pavilion saw more than 8,000 young people in its Psychiatric Crisis Department in 2022. Nationwide Children’s is not alone; pediatric emergency departments around the country are reporting increases in suicide attempts and self-harming behaviors.

Children need greater access to behavioral health services. In Ohio, there’s a particular gap for children who require extended intensive psychiatric care in a residential setting. As many as 140 Ohio children are receiving that care outside of the state each day.

A state policy change in 2022 laid the groundwork to partially address the issue – the Ohio Department of Medicaid’s new OhioRISE program provides reimbursement for behavioral health residential stays, among other supports for young people with complex behavioral health challenges. Now, two partners have broken ground on a facility that will help treat young people closer to home.

The Buckeye Ranch, a nonprofit organization that offers mental health services, and Nationwide Children’s Hospital began construction on the new 48-bed, 57,000 square foot facility in early November.

“We’re providing a new level of care to children when they need it and where they need it,” said David Axelson, MD, chief of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at Nationwide Children’s.

The options now available to those children are not ideal. They can be referred out of state for residential care; they can stay in acute inpatient care units, which are not designed for longer-stay patients; they can stay in other medical settings that are also not designed for them; or they can go home before they receive all the services they need.

The new facility is an important addition to the behavioral health continuum of care, says Axelson.

“Together, we are witnesses to and participants in a project grounded in hope and compassion that will change and save the lives of countless children—in our lifetime and beyond,” said Vickie Thompson-Sandy, President and CEO of The Buckeye Ranch at November’s groundbreaking.

The new facility is scheduled to open at The Buckeye Ranch’s Grove City, Ohio campus in 2025.