Riley Children’s Foundation will use an $8 million gift to expand access to youth mental health services in Indiana.
The donation, which comes from former Eli Lilly CEO John Lechleiter and his wife, Sarah, will be used to embed mental health professionals at Riley and IU Health primary care and pediatrician offices across the state. The goal is to treat patients who have anxiety and depression before they experience a crisis.
Suicide is the second leading cause of death for Hoosier adolescents, according to Riley’s statewide plan to address the issue, and rates are growing faster here than in 40 other states.
“We were interested in treatment models that could amplify the number of people who could be helped,” said Dr. Leslie Hulvershorn, the director of child and adolescent psychiatry at Riley Children’s Health.
Primary care doctors and pediatricians will be able to connect their patients to a mental health professional who already works in their office, bypassing referrals and wait lists. The program also hosts virtual therapy groups for children.
Riley’s hospital system receives about 700 calls per week for new mental health appointments for adults and children, Hulvershorn said, but there’s a shortage of clinicians who can provide treatment, both locally and nationally.
“We turn almost everyone away that calls for an outpatient appointment,” Hulvershorn said. “And that’s with the largest group of physiatrists in the state.”
[Asking for help is a sign of a strength — here‘s a list of hotlines that can assist.]
The integrated care program, which received an additional $7.5 million grant from the state in 2022, is filling this gap by training interventionists with bachelor’s degrees to treat mild to moderate cases of mental health and behavioral issues, including anxiety, depression and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. More severe cases will be referred to Riley Children’s outpatient psychiatry program.
“Every day there are a handful to a dozen children in the hospital somewhere who have attempted to harm themselves or kill themselves,” Hulvershorn said. “That’s an everyday occurrence. That was not the case 10 years ago.”
The rise of social media and the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic are contributing factors, she said. Studies show some demographics are at more risk than others: one third of teenage girls seriously considered suicide in 2021, and Black children are two times more likely to die by suicide.
Indianapolis has three practices currently using the program: Riley Pediatric Care Center, Riley Physicians Pediatrics — East Washington and Riley Physicians Pediatrics — Georgetown.
Riley Physicians Pediatrics — South and IU Health Physicians Primary Care — Epler Parke will start offering the program this summer, a spokesperson said.
Mirror Indy reporter Mary Claire Molloy covers health. Reach her at maryclaire.molloy@mirrorindy.org. Follow her on X @mcmolloy7.
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