Pub. 57 2016-2017 Issue 4

29 SUMMER 2017 Grace Grego Maxwell Making a Difference for Texas Children O nMonday, January 30, Nyle and NancyMaxwell and their family announced a $3million challenge gift to Seton’s Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas to help provide the full spectrum of mental health care for children and teens. TheMaxwell family’s generous challenge gift means donations from the commu- nity will be matched, dollar-for-dollar, up to $3 million. Dell Children’s and Seton are part of Ascension, the largest nonprofit health system in theU.S. and theworld’s largest Catholic health system. The Maxwells hope their donation can help reduce the stigma associated with mental health needs. The National Al- liance onMental Illness estimates that 1 in 5 children experience amental health disorder and only about half receive treatment. Suicide is the second leading cause of death in adolescents ages 12 to 17, according to Integral Care which serves Travis County. “It breaks my heart, but right now children in Central Texas don’t have a dedicated pediatric-focused inpatient facility where they can immediately go if they suffer amental health crisis or, better yet, before a crisis,” Nyle Maxwell said. “Many good minds are coming together to solve this problemandDell Children’s is taking the lead.” The newmental health unit will renovate the second floor of the south wing of the hospital and is expected to cost about $7 million. Grace Grego Maxwell Mental Health Unit at Dell Children’s, named after Nyle Maxwell’s mother, will pro- vide comprehensive mental health ser- vices. Child and adolescent psychiatrists will treat conditions like eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, depres- sion and post-traumatic stress disorder. Once finished, it will include: • An inpatient unit with 24 beds • TexasChildStudyCenter, anoutpatient clinic ofDell Children’s, in partnership withThe University of Texas at Austin • An intensive outpatient program Eventually Dell Children’s psychiatric unit will focus on general acute psychi- atric, substance abuse, eating disorders, and autism and other developmental disorders. Sonia Krishna, MD, Dell Children’s child and adolescent psychiatrist, said the unit is an important resource to treat patients comprehensively. “This new model for coordinated care will allow us to diagnose and treat chil- dren with mental health needs before, during and after a crisis,” Krishna said. “Dell Children’s will soon have more extensive integrated resources than ever before to treat the minds and bodies of our patients.” One in five children experiences a men- tal health disorder in a given year. In fact, suicide is the second leading cause of death in adolescents ages 12-17, ac- cording to Integral Care, which serves Austin and cities within Travis County. Within Seton, common mental health diagnoses among children and teens