Texas Children's Hospital and The Menninger Clinic, both based in Houston, are partnering to bolster inpatient care for youth experiencing a behavioral health crisis, Texas Children's said Feb. 22.
Texas Children's said its emergency departments saw a nearly 800 percent increase in children and adolescents with critical behavioral health needs from 2019 to 2022. Reported behaviors included aggressive episodes, severe anxiety and depression, suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts.
Menninger and Texas Children's are starting the program on March 1, and on March 15, Menninger will begin accepting Aetna members for inpatient stabilization and the transitional day and intensive outpatient programs. Menninger is working to include additional insurers, according to the news release.
The partnership at first will focus on stabilizing patients 12 to 17 years old who suffer from depression, anxiety and suicidality. The adolescent stabilization service at Menninger will have 12 inpatient beds.