UPMC Children\u2019s Hospital of Pittsburgh, in collaboration with UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital, has opened a second pediatric behavioral walk-in clinic where children and teens up to age 18 can be seen for a variety of behavioral health concerns. <\/p>\n
UPMC Children\u2019s South Pediatric Behavioral Health Walk-In Clinic, on the first floor of Children\u2019s South in Bridgeville, provides a safe and welcoming environment for children and teens with mental health concerns to receive care. <\/p>\n
UPMC Children\u2019s also operates a pediatric behavioral health walk-in clinic at the main hospital in Lawrenceville. <\/p>\n
Therapists and psychologists are available for behavioral health assessments from 5 to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, and noon to 4 p.m. on Saturdays.<\/p>\n
Children and teens, accompanied by a parent or guardian, can walk in for same-day care without an appointment and receive a one-time intervention, plus referrals to resources. <\/p>\n
\u201cMental health challenges among children and adolescents are rising, and families often struggle to find timely access to care,\u201d said Dr. Abigail Schlesinger, clinical chief of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and Integrated Care at UPMC Western and UPMC Children\u2019s. \u201cThis second walk-in clinic provides an immediate, compassionate point of access for kids who need support right away. Early intervention can make a lasting difference in a child\u2019s well-being, and our clinics ensure that help is available when it\u2019s needed most \u2013 before a situation becomes a crisis.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cThe opening of our new behavioral health walk-in clinic represents an important step forward in supporting the mental well-being of our community\u2019s children,\u201d Diane Hupp, president of UPMC Children\u2019s Hospital, said. \u201cThe opening of the new behavioral health walk-in clinic is an important step in supporting the mental well-being of children in the community. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe know that when a child is struggling, timely access to care can make all the difference. This clinic ensures that families have a safe, welcoming place to turn for immediate support \u2013 no appointment needed,\u201d said Hupp. \u201cOur goal is to remove barriers, reduce stigma, and make it easier for young people to get the help they need, when they need it most.\u201d <\/p>\n
UPMC Children\u2019s also provides comprehensive behavioral health support through several initiatives. Clinical evaluators are available in the hospital\u2019s emergency department to assist the medical team with assessments and resources for patients and families. In addition, behavioral science psychologists are integrated into both inpatient and outpatient settings at UPMC Children\u2019s, and a behavioral health nurse clinician offers specialized care for inpatients. <\/p>\n
The clinic is supported by a gift from Elizabeth L. and John P. Surma. <\/p>\n
The walk-in clinic does not serve as a substitute for Psychiatric Emergency Services (PES) and is not intended for children who may require hospitalization. Those experiencing an extreme mental health crisis can access care at PES in UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital or at the nearest hospital emergency department. Crisis counselors and behavioral and mental health crisis services are available by calling 988 at any time. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"UPMC Children\u2019s Hospital of Pittsburgh, in collaboration with UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital, has opened a second pediatric behavioral…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":35004,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[2298,3140,73,75,74,21878],"class_list":{"0":"post-35003","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh","8":"tag-fayette-county","9":"tag-greene-county","10":"tag-pittsburgh","11":"tag-pittsburgh-headlines","12":"tag-pittsburgh-news","13":"tag-upmc-children"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35003"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35003\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}