Riley Children’s Health to open Indiana’s first pediatric medical-behavioral health unit, among the first in the nation

Riley Children’s Health to open Indiana’s first pediatric medical-behavioral health unit, among the first in the nation

INDIANAPOLIS — Riley Children’s Health this week announced plans to open its new Pediatric Medical-Behavioral Health Unit, Indiana’s first, and among the first of its kind in the nation. Opening this fall, the unit will expand access to specialized care for children and adolescents who need medical and behavioral health treatment at the same time in a safe, therapeutic environment.

The opening comes at a critical time for pediatric mental health care. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, nearly 40% of high school students reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, more than 20% seriously considered attempting suicide, and nearly 10% reported a suicide attempt. Children’s hospitals nationwide continue to experience historically high volumes of behavioral health-related emergency department visits and inpatient admissions, underscoring the need for specialized pediatric mental health services.

The 11-bed Pediatric Medical-Behavioral Health Unit is expected to serve approximately 325 patients annually and is designed for children whose complex conditions cannot be effectively managed in traditional medical or psychiatric inpatient units. Patients may require treatment for eating disorders, catatonia, encephalitis, anxiety, depression, and other psychiatric conditions that occur alongside significant medical needs.

“Every child deserves access to the specialized, compassionate care they need to heal and thrive,” said David Biggerstaff, president of Riley Children’s Health. “Across Indiana, we are seeing increasing numbers of children with both medical and behavioral health conditions who require highly coordinated care. This innovative unit helps meet that need by bringing together expert teams in a setting intentionally designed to support healing, improve outcomes, and ensure families receive the expert care they need, in their home state.”

The Pediatric Medical-Behavioral Health Unit will provide integrated care through a specialized interdisciplinary team that includes specialized dually boarded pediatrician/child and adolescent psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, therapists, social workers, and other behavioral health specialists. The unit’s design and staffing model have been developed to enhance patient and staff safety while supporting earlier stabilization, better discharge planning, and reduced repeat hospitalizations.

“Our goal is to provide comprehensive care for the whole child,” said Dr. Mara Nitu, chief medical officer of Riley Children’s Health. “Children with co-occurring medical and behavioral health conditions often face delays in treatment because there are few places equipped to manage both needs simultaneously. This unit helps address that challenge by creating a therapeutic environment where medical and behavioral health teams work side by side to deliver coordinated, evidence-based care.”

Designed to promote healing beyond traditional clinical care, the unit includes a classroom, sensory room, recreation room, and a dedicated space for art therapy and therapeutic programming. These features help create a supportive environment focused on both treatment and recovery.

The unit also responds to ongoing access challenges in Indiana’s pediatric behavioral health continuum. Despite improvements in mental health access measures, workforce shortages and limited behavioral health capacity continue to create barriers to timely care, particularly in rural communities. Access to child and adolescent psychiatric services remain a challenge across the state.

“Children with simultaneous complex medical and psychiatric needs are often left without a setting fully equipped to meet both needs,” said Dr. Leslie Hulvershorn, head of child psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Riley Children’s Health. “This program was thoughtfully designed to care for those children. By integrating behavioral health expertise into medical care, we can better support patients experiencing eating disorders, severe anxiety, depression, behavioral dysregulation, and other conditions that require a specialized approach.”

The new unit builds on Riley’s pediatric behavioral health network, which includes outpatient psychiatric clinics, integrated behavioral health services in primary and specialty care practices, the Be Happy Child Psychiatry Access Program, the Behavioral Health Access Center in the Riley Emergency Department, the Charis Center for Eating Disorders, the Simon Skjodt Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health Unit, and other specialized services throughout the state.

The unit was made possible by generous donor support to Riley Children’s Foundation as part of the Every Child Deserves Riley campaign, which identified pediatric behavioral health as a key priority for Indiana’s children.

“This unit is a powerful example of what is possible when a community comes together to invest in children’s health,” said Courtney Roberts, president of Riley Children’s Foundation. “Our donors recognized the urgent and growing need for expanded pediatric behavioral health services. Their support helped create a welcoming, innovative space where children and families can receive the specialized care they deserve during some of their most challenging moments.”

Studies show nearly 300,000 Indiana youth experience a mental health condition each year, while suicide remains the second-leading cause of death among Indiana adolescents and young adults. Riley’s leaders hope the unit will reduce emergency department use, support families, and create better long-term outcomes for children facing complex medical and behavioral health challenges.

About Riley Children’s Health

Riley Children’s Health is Indiana’s only full-service statewide pediatric health system. Riley Children’s offers complete, comprehensive pediatric care ranging from routine primary care checkups to the most complex acute care needs from highly skilled pediatric specialists. The system connects patients with expert primary care and specialty care physicians in communities across Indiana. Riley physicians treat patients in their home communities, bringing top-notch care close to home. This statewide network is an extension of Riley Hospital for Children, one of the nation’s leading children’s hospitals, consistently ranked a Best Children’s Hospital by U.S. News & World Report, while the Behavioral Health program is ranked in the Top 50.

About Riley Children’s Foundation

Riley Children’s Foundation is Indiana’s preeminent nonprofit dedicated to funding children’s health care and the founding organization that opened Riley Hospital for Children in 1924. Today, Riley Children’s Foundation inspires communities to invest in world-class pediatric research and care at Riley Children’s Health and Indiana University School of Medicine, and in programs such as Camp Riley that support the well-being of kids and families. Riley Children’s recently launched its Every Child Deserves Riley $300 million comprehensive campaign, its most ambitious fundraising campaign to date. Learn more about Every Child Deserves Riley and how you can get involved here.