Banner Children’s
New pediatric behavioral health unit opens at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center With an increasing need for behavioral health care in the Valley and around the country, Banner Thunderbird Medical Center opened a new 12-bed inpatient pediatric behavioral health unit for patients ages 5-12 in 2021. Banner medical experts have noted in Arizona and across the country a significant increase in pediatric behavioral health cases at hospitals. This increase is in both pediatric patients under age 13 and in teenagers. While the trend pre-dates the COVID-19 pandemic, it has accelerated in the past two years. To meet the need for more in-patient psychiatric care in the Valley, Banner Behavioral Health Hospital also increased
its bed count from 16 to 40 beds for patients over 13 in the last few years. But children under the age of 13 typically have the longest stays in emergency departments and continue to be an underserved patient population. This new unit will help alleviate that strain for emergency departments and create better care for these young patients as a result. The project was funded with proceeds from the Banner Health Foundation’s 2019 Pulse of the City Soiree and a 2020 virtual fundraising campaign, Lighting the Way, to raise funds and awareness for youth mental health in Arizona. “I know this will have a dramatic effect on the lives of these children and their families,
Left, a patient room at the new pediatric behavioral health unit opened in 2021 at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center. Above, an outdoor sport court encourages exercise and play. Below, Banner Behavioral Health CEO Bill Southwick welcomes guests to the ribbon-cutting for the new unit.
and we are proud to offer this service that is so greatly needed in our community,” said Banner Behavioral Health CEO Bill Southwick. Early identification, diagnosis and treatment can help prevent the dire consequences of mental illness, delay mental illness, or lessen symptoms so that children can grow into healthy, functioning adults. Banner Children’s and Banner Behavioral Health are committed to expanding pediatric behavioral health services to meet the needs of Arizona’s children and teens, who require specialized, compassionate care by experts trained specifically to work with this age group. No child or teen in crisis will ever be turned away from a Banner Health medical center.
