Wellstone Pediatric Crisis Care Center is facing a staff shortage

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) – Wellstone Emergency Services’ pediatric unit opened last month in South Huntsville, and officials already say they can’t treat as many teenagers as they’d like because of staff shortages.

Dr. Edgar Finn, director of the Wellstone Crisis Center, said 16 patients have been treated since opening last month.

Dr. Finn said staff members are helping patients between the ages of 12 and 18 who are struggling with suicidal thoughts or other mental health issues.

The center has 24 beds, but staff can only treat six patients at a time due to staff shortages. Dr Finn said it has been difficult to find qualified people to work there.

“I think we could probably fill the unit to a maximum of 24 beds if we had all the staff in place,” Finn said. “This has been perhaps the biggest challenge. You just need to find the right staff who have that passion for working with young people in crisis.”

The crisis center offers teenagers a place to stay and receive therapy or family therapy sessions. The longest a teenager can stay in the crisis center is one week.

Dr. Finn said that while the teenagers stay at the center, they participate in therapeutic group activities such as art, watching movies or playing basketball.

He also said the center has been beneficial for teenagers to meet others their age who also need mental health support.

“We find that when a young person comes in, they often feel like they’re the only one in the world who’s ever felt that way,” Finn said. “It is the worst possible day to enter a psychiatric crisis center. It’s just a terrible day, and our goal is to take that day and make it the day that things started to change for them and make things better for them.”

Finn said several teenagers have left notes saying how much staying at the center for a few days helped them.

In Madison County alone, 800 children travel to receive comprehensive mental health care each year. This center was created to help children and teens in North Alabama get the help they need.

Officials hope the center will reduce the number of young people sent to emergency rooms during a crisis.

Dr. Finn said he also hopes the center’s success can help open the door for more adolescent mental health facilities to open across the state.

“I think we’re going to see a decrease in the number of young people who are in emergency rooms for days on end, waiting for psychiatric care or waiting for placement,” Finn said. “And I think in the long term we’ll also see an overall improvement in youth mental health. Youth mental health is in crisis right now.”

Patients at the center can transition to outpatient care with Wellstone after their stay.

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