ER boarding

Laura Polizoti, a family intervention specialist at Youth Villages, discusses strategies with Haley that would be more beneficial for both her and her mother Carmen.

Health & Safety

One state looks to get kids in crisis out of the ER — and back home

4:57pm February 10, 2023

by Martha Bebinger

At many U.S. hospitals, children and teens are stuck in the emergency department for days or weeks because psychiatric beds are full. Massachussets has a simple, yet promising solution.

Queue Listen Now

After experiencing a suicidal crisis earlier this year, Melinda, a Massachusetts 13-year-old, was forced to remain 17 days in the local hospital's emergency room while she waited for a space to open up at a psychiatric treatment facility. She was only all

Health & Safety

Kids In Mental Health Crisis Can Languish For Days Inside ERs

12:47pm June 23, 2021

by Martha Bebinger

The practice of housing children who are in psychiatric crisis in local ERs — often for days, while they await appropriate in-patient treatment — has become even more prevalent during the pandemic.