On December 12, 2022, Seattle Children’s opened the doors to Seattle Children’s Magnuson, which will serve as the new hub for autism and behavioral health care, outreach, training and research, in order to better meet the needs of youth and families in our community.
“Seattle Children’s is working to create a future where every young person has access to evidence-based mental and behavioral health services when and where they need them,” said Dr. Carol Rockhill, Medical Director, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Clinics, Seattle Children’s. “Seattle Children’s Magnuson is a huge step in that direction, providing more treatment rooms and clinical spaces, better technology, gathering spaces for families and children with mental health care needs, autism and more.”
Key features and additions of the new space include:
- Intentional design – The space is specially designed for youth with autism or behavioral health needs — we will continue to provide the high-quality, family-focused care Seattle Children’s is known for, while accelerating collaboration between the clinicians and researchers who are working tirelessly to meet the growing need for autism and behavioral health services for youth and their families.
- Improved access – At 45,000 square feet, this new site helps ensure we have the necessary space to provide the best, family-focused, state-of-the-art care for kids with autism or behavioral health needs.
-
- Over time, we hope to be able to reduce the wait time for diagnostic evaluations – getting patients the help they need sooner, in order to change their trajectory for the better.
- More space gives us greater flexibility to develop the continuum of care, because we will have the appropriate spaces for classes, groups and IOPS, in addition to individual therapy.
- With this new space, we expect to see a 25% increase in the number of unique patients served over the next five years.
-
- Increased training capacity – The new space includes better technology for observing trainees and for conducting live-streamed training for community providers, etc. This capability will also support our goal of improving access because people can then get the care they need in their community by a provider we have trained, equity (care closer to home is more equitable), and patient-centered care (because they can get what they need from a community provider they already trust).
- Continued growth of community partnerships – We hope this new space will serve as a gathering space for families and kids with mental health care needs or autism. We see opportunities for creating community partnerships through classes, support groups, the onsite resource library, play area and garden. The new space is close to the hospital campus and the Sand Point Learning Center (SPLC), which will also allow providers to easily move between the two sites and leverage the additional capacities of SPLC for community practitioners, just a short distance away.
For more on Seattle Children’s Magnuson and our autism and behavioral health services, please see the links below.
