Admissions Process

Children and adolescents can be admitted to our unit in a variety of ways:

• They can be referred through the emergency room of a hospital

• They can be referred through our Psychiatric Urgent Care 

Once a child or adolescent has been referred from one of these sources, meets our admissions criteria, and we have a bed available, we will admit them to the unit. Upon arrival to the unit, we will complete a nursing assessment and history with the parent/guardian present (when possible); parents/guardians are very helpful when it comes to learning about the adolescent and designing an individualized course of treatment. We will also complete a skin assessment and safety search during the intake process to ensure that the patient has not been experiencing any physical harm and is not bringing any contraband items onto the unit.

After the intake process, each patient will get a tour of the unit and the bedroom; we make sure that the whole family is comfortable with the unit environment before the parent/guardian leaves.

After the in-person admissions process, the parent will be contacted by the assigned social worker to set up an admission meeting with the whole treatment team, including the psychiatrist, behavior specialist, speech-language pathologist, and social worker. During the admissions meeting, our team members will ask a variety questions to better get to know the child, such as:

• What led to this admission?

• How does the child communicate? Are there any devices they use to assist with communication?

• What is their level of functioning, and what support to they need when it comes to activities of daily living?

• What are the child’s interests?

• Are there any sensory issues?

• What are the child’s triggers or stressors for aggressive behavior?

• What helps the child to calm down?

We know that each child is incredibly unique, and we use the information gathered in this meeting, along with extensive observation, to craft an effective individualized treatment plan.