Children's Minnesota unveils new inpatient mental health unit for kids

Children's Minnesota unveiled its new child and adolescent mental health unit Thursday, its response to the mental health crisis that has affected children throughout the state in recent years.

The new unit in downtown St. Paul has been in development for four years, but the recent $97.2 million state mental health reform bill allowed the hospital to add even more to the space, including beds for parents to stay in rooms with their child. The unit will open in a few weeks and is designed for children and adolescents from ages 6 to 18.

"To all the families out there whose children are struggling with their mental health ... to all of these families I say, have hope," Sue Abderholden, executive director of NAMI Minnesota, said at the event Thursday celebrating the new facility. "Hope that this new unit at Children's will be able to treat your child and alleviate their symptoms so that they can simply be children."

https://www.startribune.com/childrens-minnesota-unveils-new-inpatient-mental-health-unit-for-children/600227061/