The pandemic has pushed the number of kids and teenagers struggling with their mental health to a crisis level, leading three organizations to declare a national emergency. The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the Children’s Hospital Association are calling for multiple measures to ease the situation.

Christopher Pruitt, M.D., a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and medical director of the MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital Emergency Department, sees the need firsthand. “These kids often come later in the evening when no other resources are available. If it's deemed that they would benefit from inpatient psychiatric care, those resources are incredibly constrained. Inpatient beds for children and adolescents are at a premium everywhere.”

That needs to change, he said. Children need better treatment, earlier, and their families need more options.

“There is a dearth of mental health providers for children and adolescents across the country. There is a lack of timely resources for kids who are struggling with depression. The way this manifests itself is if there's a crisis moment or a time when a parent or a teacher learns that a child is suicidal; there are very few avenues for these adults to make sure that these young people are safe.”

The Declaration of a National Emergency in Child and Adolescent Mental Health cites the need for:

• More money to pay for scientifically sound mental health care for kids.
• Less red tape.
• Better access to telehealth.
• More mental health care in schools, primary care doctors’ appointments and other community settings.
• Better ways to ease the strain on emergency departments.
• Full funding for programs that connect families with mental health help.
• More people in the field of mental health care, including people from communities that are underrepresented.
• New policies that make sure mental health parity laws are followed.

The organizations that issued the declaration noted that between March and October 2020, emergency department visits for mental health emergencies rose 24% for kids 5 to 11 and more than 30% for children 12 to 17. And in early 2021, suspected suicide attempts among girls age 12 to 17 jumped more than 50% compared with the same period in 2019.

That’s the national picture. Locally, this year, mental health visits to the Emergency Department at the MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital are up noticeably. “It is an unusual day when I come into the Emergency Department and we don't have at least a couple of young people who are waiting for a psychiatric bed to open up,” Pruitt said.

So what’s behind the mental health numbers? The emergency declaration cites not only stress brought on by the pandemic but also inequities related to structural racism and the fact that more than 140,000 kids in this country have lost a primary or secondary caregiver to COVID.

Kudos to Martha Gomez, LMSW in the National Crime Victims Research & Treatment Center (NCVC) for her work in the community raising awareness for the AFSP Suicide Prevention Walk and the impact of suicide in the Hispanic/Latinx community!

Thank you, Martha, for your incredible advocacy and for helping make sure these community events are accessible to LEP members of our community! She (and Virginia Green) have also helped translate some of the materials for the walk this year, so that we have Spanish-language materials. Recommendations have been given to AFSP to ensure all materials are available in Spanish, but since this will take some time, our team has been very helpful in ensuring our walk this year has access to these materials now.

Questions? Email Meg Wallace at wallam@musc.edu

Struggling with Depression?

We are currently seeking individuals between the ages of 21-70, diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) to participate in a research trial using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). Treatment and study related assessments will be provided at no charge.

CONTACT US!

EEGTMSproject@musc.edu

843-876-5141

Addiction Sciences Division

Open Rank/Assistant Professor (UNIV, Full-Time): The successful applicant for this position will have either an MD or a PhD degree and will be expected to have an established and independent research program that will interface with the multidisciplinary NIAAA P50 Charleston Alcohol Research Center at MUSC. 

Open Rank/Professor (UNIV, Full-Time): The successful applicant for this position will have either an MD or a PhD degree and will be expected to have an established and independent research program that will interface with the multidisciplinary NIAAA P50 Charleston Alcohol Research Center at MUSC.

The COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force will be posting updates on the COVID-19 Vaccine intranet site, including information about the vaccine safety and efficacy, so our care team members can make an informed decision.

**Updated University Directives can be found here.** 

LAB & TESTING OPTIONS

The following resource provides MUSC Health lab and testing options pertaining to COVID-19. Included on this page is information regarding drive-thru and “pop-up” mobile COVID testing locations, antibody or serology tests, drive-in lab and nurse visits, and original/classic lab testing.

MUSC Health Lab & Testing Options

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Due to the activity of COVID-19 within the hospital and community, all employees, residents, fellows and students within all MUSC entities are directed to begin daily self-monitoring for COVID-19 symptoms. This applies regardless of whether you have been working remotely on a full-time or intermittent basis. You need to continue daily self-monitoring, even if symptoms are not present.

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