Crisis center, family suites: 7 ways a new Utah center will help with kids’ mental health (2024)

The campus is expected to open in 2025 and will feature a walk-in crisis center for children.

Utah’s pediatric health care landscape is set to significantly change next year.

Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital is opening a first-of-its-kind behavioral health center in Taylorsville. The $96 million campus will offer specialized mental health treatment and neurodivergent care for children of all ages, officials announced Monday.

The 90,000-square-foot facility is currently under construction and expected to open in late 2025. It will ultimately replace the current Primary Children’s Wasatch Canyons Behavioral Health Campus, located at 5770 S. 1500 West.

Here’s what Intermountain Health says the new center will be able to offer young patients:

A new walk-in crisis center

The facility’s planned walk-in crisis center will be completely new to Utah, officials said.

It will be accessible 24/7, functioning similar to a traditional emergency room but with an inpatient care team tailored to provide children with specialized treatment during mental health crises.

Suicide is a leading cause of death for Utah children, according to Intermountain Health. Last year, nearly 43% of Utah children who felt sad, hopeless or suicidal did not talk to anyone about it, a news release stated.

‘Family-centered’ care

The new facility will also be “family-centered,” officials said, allowing relatives to stay overnight with young patients and be actively involved in all stages of their inpatient and outpatient care.

Amanda Choudhary, senior director of pediatric behavioral health, said that right now, “you will often see parents in their cars, waiting for their kid’s treatment to finish.”

The new facility will include a lobby, cafe and mediation room so parents can feel liked a welcomed member of their child’s care team, officials said.

The hospital will also offer parent groups and parent therapy sessions, so they can develop tools to cope with their child’s needs and learn how to best to support them.

How much will it cost patients?

Patients at the center who do not have insurance and cannot afford treatment will qualify for charity care through Intermountain Health, said spokesperson Jess Gomez.

That is possible in part through $25 million in state funding, as well as Intermountain Health’s financial match, according to a news release.

“We’re fortunate to be able to pursue these critical behavioral health services for youth in our community right now without the costs translating to our patients,” said Katy Welkie, CEO of Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital and vice president of Intermountain Children’s Health.

Increase in inpatient beds

The new Taylorsville facility will offer a roughly 50% increase in patient beds, allowing health care providers to take on more patients.

The Wasatch Canyons campus that it will replace was initially built in the 1980s as a mixed-use facility, officials explained. It was eventually converted to a children’s behavioral health campus, but current need has outgrown the existing facility.

More therapy options

The new center will be intentionally designed to accommodate several kinds of therapy, with an emphasis on group environments. Research indicates group therapy can make patients feel less isolated, officials said.

The facility will also accommodate children who are unable to attend school during the day during treatment without requiring overnight care.

The previous Wasatch Canyons campus was retrofitted for such outpatient care, but the new center will prioritize these services, officials explained. With more space and options, health teams will be better able to adjust care based on a patient’s evolving needs.

Specific care spaces for neurodivergent children

The new facility will also include a specific care center for autistic and neurodivergent children.

The space will work to limit sensory levels, creating a better environment for their care. Services there can also be individualized for patients who may be overstimulated in a group-therapy setting.

The new facility will not include specific treatment spaces for other behavioral health challenges, such as substance misuse or eating disorders. But Choudhard says that creating more “population-specific” centers such as this one is a part of Intermountain’s long-term goal.

The Taylorsville campus works toward Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital’s greater “Primary Promise,” a campaign that aims to provide lifesaving care advancements for children. In Utah, 60% of children with behavioral disorders go without treatment, officials said.

Utah philanthropist Gail Miller and her family contributed $50 million through the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation to the “Primary Promise” campaign in 2020. Gail Miller is the namesake of under construction in Lehi.

A home base for existing crisis care teams

The new facility will also act as a home base for two existing crisis care teams: the Stabilization and Mobile Response Team, as well as Primary Children’s Assessment, Referral, and Consultation Service (ARCS).

The former responds to crisis situations at patients’ homes. It may be reached by calling 1-833-SAFE-FAM (1-833-723-3326). The team’s services are free to everyone in Utah and do not require proof of citizenship, insurance, or a social security number, officials said.

ARCS is also a free service line that can match a patient to the best possible health care options based on a child’s location, insurance and level of care required. It may be reached by calling 801-313-7711.