Construction crews broke ground this week on an inpatient mental health crisis care center for children and adolescents. The 24-bed, 12,000 sq. ft. facility will be the first of its kind in Madison County. The pediatric wing will be adjacent to WellStone Emergency Services (WES), which opened in its new state-of-the-art facility last fall on WellStone’s main campus in Huntsville.

The addition will provide stabilization, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up care for children and adolescents experiencing severe depression, extreme anxiety, suicidal ideation, self-harm, and other mental health related crises. Like the adult center, the pediatric wing will feature a warm, healing, and non-institutional environment, close to home.

Every year, HEMSI transports more than 800 children out of Madison County—and sometimes out of state—for inpatient psychiatric care. About half go to Decatur West in Morgan County; the other half go wherever space is available. Patients can wait hours, and sometimes days, for a bed.

“Everyone agrees that children in our community need and deserve compassionate inpatient care without having to travel far from home,” said Jeremy Blair, WellStone CEO. “WES is already making a huge difference for adults. We urgently need to do the same for children.”

The US remains in a National State of Emergency in child and adolescent mental health. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for children ages 10 to 14, and last week, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy announced to Congress, “…our kids can’t afford to wait” for mental healthcare resources.

WellStone isn’t waiting any longer. The pediatric wing is scheduled for completion in late 2024. It will serve children and adolescents in Madison County and surrounding communities.

Individuals can support this transformational project by donating to WellStone’s “Be the Rock” capital campaign at go.wellstone.com/be-the-rock.