Seattle Children’s Care Network (SCCN) Integrated Behavioral Health Program helps kids receive behavioral health services from specialists embedded in their primary care clinic.
Seattle Children’s has teamed up with primary care pediatricians in the Puget Sound region to implement a new approach to address the growing youth mental health crisis.
Seattle Children’s Care Network (SCCN) and Seattle Children’s Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine launched a Pediatric Integrated Behavioral Health Program in 2020 to provide children and their families with the mental and behavioral health support they need earlier and closer to home.
The innovative program aims to empower primary care teams to identify, manage and coordinate mental and behavioral health services within their community settings with the long-term goal of alleviating pressure on hospitals and specialty care practices.
“Mental health care is one of the greatest unmet needs in pediatric health, said Dr. Sheryl Morelli, chief medical officer for SCCN. “The support we received from the Seattle Children’s Guild Association’s Funding Hope Award has been instrumental in establishing the foundational components of an integrated behavioral health program across our network, including universal behavioral health screenings and brief evidence-based interventions within primary care.”
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Studies consistently show that less than half of all school-age kids get enough sleep most weeknights. While the most recognized consequence of inadequate sleep is daytime sleepiness, children commonly manifest their sleepiness as irritability, behavioral problems, learning difficulties and poor academic performance.
Some sleep disruptions are normal and are connected to age-related changes. Others are symptoms of an actual sleep disorder. Whatever the reason, sleep problems can affect the entire family and should be accurately diagnosed.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children ages 6 to 12 get between 9 and 12 hours of sleep each night, and that teens get 8 to 10 hours. Quality sleep provides immense benefits and children who regularly get enough sleep have healthier immune systems and better overall mental health. Additionally, they have sharper memories and better behavior, which are key to success in school.
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Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith visits with a pediatric patient at Seattle Children’s Hospital
Seattle Children’s patients and families were surprised this holiday season when some exciting visitors stopped by – Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks quarterback, Michael Dickson, punter, Joey Hunt, center, and Jalen McKenzie, tackle.
The players delivered teddy bears, signed autographs, played video games, and shared special moments with our patients and their families.
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The new year is an ideal time for parents to renew their commitment to using positive reinforcement with their children.
Positive reinforcement includes specific and immediate praise when spotting a child doing something kind or helpful.
This kind of approach is also particularly beneficial if the action is the opposite of a problem behavior that a parent or caregiver is trying to reduce.
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PART FOUR: From witnessing exceptional care and compassion given to children in their own lives, to receiving treatment first-hand, this weekly series features Seattle Children’s employees and the life experiences that drove them to pursue careers in healthcare.
Natalie Jean Ahrens (left) helped care for Becky Greenway when she was a pediatric patient at Seattle Children’s
In 1991, Becky Greenway was a 17-year-old student facing chronic knee pain throughout her senior year of high school.
“My pain was worse at night and the only way I could get any relief was by soaking it in the bathtub,” she recalled.
Greenway sought care from several primary care doctors who provided varying diagnoses, including tendonitis, growing pains and a possible mental disorder.
“This fourth doctor couldn’t find any reason for my pain, so he was convinced it was all in my head,” Greenway explained.
Feeling exasperated, Greenway’s mother pushed forward, certain that the root of her daughter’s pain was something more serious.
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Harper and mom Meagan celebrate Christmas at Seattle Children’s
As many families prepare for their annual holiday celebrations and family gatherings, this year’s plans look very different than last year for 3-year-old Harper and her parents, Meagan and Josh.
In 2019 just a few months before Christmas, Harper was transported to Seattle Children’s on an emergency flight from Yakima, Wash. after blood tests in a local emergency room revealed she had leukemia, a cancer of the blood.
At a mere five months old, the diagnosis that their child had acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) was both shocking and devastating to Harper’s parents, but they took comfort in knowing that she was in the best hands possible with a team of experts in Seattle Children’s High-Risk Leukemia Program.
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PART THREE: From witnessing exceptional care and compassion given to children in their own lives, to receiving treatment first-hand, this weekly series features Seattle Children’s employees and the life experiences that drove them to pursue careers in healthcare.
Top: After receiving treatment at Seattle Children’s for chronic pain and arthritis, Johanna celebrated her 15th birthday. Bottom: Today, Johanna and her husband, Carlos.
Seattle Children’s has been part of Johanna Sánchez-Vargas’s life since she was 13 years old. Her family immigrated from Guerrero, Mexico to a small agricultural town in the Yakima Valley. There, the family planted roots and started working as farmworkers.
Throughout her childhood, Sánchez-Vargas experienced chronic pain and arthritis, and was treated in Seattle Children’s Rheumatology Program for spondyloarthropathies, a group of inflammatory diseases of the joints and areas where tendons attach to bones. It typically affects the lower part of a child’s body, including the hips, knees and ankles.
“Predominantly, I had persistent pain that hindered my ability to walk,” she said. “As a kid, I struggled with being visibly disabled. I remember going through the halls of my middle school with my wheelchair and feeling isolated for being different.”
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Beginning Dec. 14, Seattle Children’s began offering updated (bivalent) COVID-19 vaccines to children aged 6 months to 5 years old at our hospital campus.
The Moderna bivalent vaccine is available as a booster to children aged 6 months to 5 who have received two doses of the monovalent Moderna COVID-19 vaccine series.
The Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent vaccine is available to children aged 6 months to 4 years as a third dose to those who have not completed their three-dose primary Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine series. The Pfizer bivalent vaccine is not yet approved for use as a booster for this age group.
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7-year-old Loui Legend Heath Herriott was born with Treacher Collins syndrome
Located just under two hours from London in South East England is the coastal city of Brighton, home to a 7-year-old child who is truly living up to his name.
Loui Legend Heath Herriott was born with Treacher Collins syndrome, a rare genetic condition that affects the development of bones and tissues in the face, and occurs in about 1 in 50,000 newborns worldwide.
Though the severity of this syndrome varies from child to child, impacted areas often include the cheekbones, jaws, ears and eyelids, and children often have problems breathing, swallowing, chewing, hearing and with speech.
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Seattle Children’s Magnuson will serve as the new hub for autism and behavioral health care, outreach, training and research
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.”
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