Children's Wisconsin mental health clinic to open, serve growing need
MILWAUKEE - Children's Wisconsin is set to open a walk-in urgent-care clinic that treats mental health at the same level as physical wellbeing. It is a response to a growing need in the community.
"The pandemic has only exacerbated the mental health needs of Wisconsin kids. I can tell you the demand for services has been growing at an alarming rate," said Amy Herbst, Vice President of Mental and Behavioral Health at Children's Wisconsin. "There is nothing like this available in the community right now for kids and families."
Herbst told reporters on Monday, Jan. 10 that Wisconsin's youth suicide rate was already higher than the national average. During the pandemic, visits to the Children's emergency department for mental health have increased 40%.
"We tell parents, just keep the lines of communication open with their kids. Asking them – how are you doing? How are you feeling about going back to school? How are you feeling about not being able to go back to school right now?" Herbst said.
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Herbst said staff is still being hired to run the clinic. But the goal is to have it available to families seven days a week – during after-school hours between 3 p.m. and 11 p.m.
"Mental health is health. We need to find a way to reduce the stigma and get to a place where we talk about mental health the same way we talk about any other health condition and treat it the same way as any other health condition," Herbst said.
Children's Wisconsin
The clinic will be named in honor of Craig Yabuki, who died by suicide at age 52. The Yabuki Family Foundation made a $20 million donation to Children's Wisconsin in 2021 to transform and integrate mental health services. Craig's brother, Jeff Yabuki, spoke with FOX6 News last summer.
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"Given that my brother had issues when he was younger, had they been diagnosed and be able to dealt with, I suspect we would have had a different outcome," Yabuki said.
The state’s children’s mental health director is set to deliver the group’s annual report on Tuesday. They note an overall increase in anxiety and depression.
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