MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV) – Salinas Valley Health Physician Erica Locke has been a physician for 15 years and sees an alarming trend.
“Never in the last few years have we seen such an increase in the proportion of children requiring emergency admission for mental illness,” Professor Locke said.
Locke is the director of Salinas Valley Health’s substance use disorder program. A study at Children’s Hospital of Chicago found that children with severe mental illnesses, including bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and substance use disorders, were being treated in emergency rooms.
“And I think a big part of that is the isolation of kids during the pandemic,” Locke said.
The study showed that the number was higher for girls than for boys.
“I think one of the problems we see in our country, and one of the biggest criticisms, is that we didn’t build the infrastructure,” Locke said.
Locke says now more than ever, we need a long-term focus on children’s mental health.
“So we’re in a moment where we’re trying to catch up,” Locke said. “We’re trying to get kids to do better on tests, but we’re not building the scaffolding for mental health services for kids.”
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