Child & Adolescent Inpatient Mental Health Care
Having a child or teen in a mental health crisis can be scary and overwhelming. A mental health crisis is when someone’s mental health condition, like an eating disorder, anxiety or bipolar disorder, is significantly impacting your child’s daily life or could cause them to do harm to themselves or someone else.
If you suspect your child is experiencing a mental health crisis, call 9-1-1 immediately or take them to the Penn Highlands DuBois Emergency Room for an assessment by a trained mental health worker. We can determine whether an inpatient placement or an outpatient services referral is best.
The Stern Center for Behavioral Health Child/Adolescent Unit, located on Penn Highlands DuBois East Campus, provides acute inpatient behavioral health care for children and teens ages 5-18 who are experiencing a mental health emergency. Tailored to the unique needs of children and adolescents, our compassionate, specially trained staff provides intensive, critical treatment in a hospital setting for up to a few weeks. The goal is to help stabilize your child’s mental health so they can transition to longer-term inpatient care or home as soon as possible.
For children and adolescents needing longer-term inpatient care, Penn Highlands’ R-Place in DuBois, PA, is a Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility (PRTF) Unit providing step-down mental health treatment for children ages 8-18 for up to 90 days. The unit operates 24/7 and has private rooms, a classroom, dining room, recreational lounge and therapy offices.
What is the Stern Center for Behavioral Health Child/Adolescent Unit Like?
Located on the Penn Highlands DuBois East Campus (Maple Avenue), the Stern Center for Behavioral Health Child/Adolescent Unit offers 24/7 care in an access-controlled space for patient safety. Patients are seen daily by a board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist and a multidisciplinary team that includes specialized pediatric and adolescent behavioral health experts, including psychologists, physician assistants, licensed clinical social workers and licensed professional counselors. The unit has 22 private rooms.
Treatment plans at our child and adolescent inpatient clinical program are based upon thorough diagnostic evaluations, including psychiatric, physical, social and psychological assessments. Treatment includes counseling, medication and other therapies along with continual assessment of progress.
Patients receive classroom instruction with a teacher so that they can keep up with their studies while hospitalized. Daily recreational activities are also integrated into the program.
Psychiatry
Behavioral Health Inpatient Adult Unit - DuBois
Behavioral Health Outpatient Center - DuBois
Psychiatry
Behavioral Health Inpatient Adult Unit - DuBois
Behavioral Health Outpatient Center - DuBois
Child & Adolescent Mental Health Conditions Treated at Penn Highlands
Penn Highlands child behavioral health teams at the Stern Center for Behavioral Health diagnose and treat a variety of child and adolescent mental health conditions, including, but not limited to:
- ADD
- ADHD
- Anxiety
- Autism
- Eating disorders
- Bipolar disorder
- Depression
- Behavioral disorders
How to Get Your Child Admitted to the Stern Center for Behavioral Health
If your child is experiencing a mental health crisis, call 9-1-1 immediately or take them to Penn Highlands DuBois Emergency Department. A trained mental health expert will assess your child and determine whether acute inpatient care is best for their treatment. Referrals to the child and adolescent inpatient unit can be made by schools, community mental health agencies, child and youth agencies, physicians and other professionals in the community.
If you believe your child is struggling with a mental health issue but they are still functioning in their daily life and are NOT a danger to themselves or others, you should first speak to your pediatrician, family doctor or primary care provider. You also can contact our child and adolescent behavioral health program by calling 814-375-6379 for information and to schedule a mental health assessment.
What Parents Can Expect If A Child is Admitted to Inpatient Mental Health at Penn Highlands
If your child is admitted for acute inpatient behavioral health care, you will be a vital contributor to their treatment and recovery. From helping the intake team understand your child’s background and what may have led to the mental health crisis, to participating in your child’s treatment plan, parents and guardians play a vital role in the recovery and long-term mental health of a child or adolescent.
Once your child is admitted to the Stern Center for Behavioral Health Child/Adolescent Unit, you will go home and be in regular contact with the care team while your child is in the hospital. The Stern Center for Behavioral Health Child/Adolescent Unit provides a safe, compassionate environment for children and adolescents to receive the support and care they need. Our specialized pediatric and adolescent behavioral health experts ensure that your child receives proper assessments, treatment and ongoing progress assessments to ensure their needs are met in real-time and to set them up for mental health stability after they leave the acute inpatient program.
You can call the unit at 814-375-6363 anytime for an update on your child. Our team begins working on a discharge plan as soon as your child enters our care so that they can safely return to their home or a longer-term residential treatment facility as soon as possible.
Visiting hours are on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturdays from 5:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. (will make exceptions for alternative times/days for certain circumstances).
Transitioning Children and Adolescents to Outpatient Care
Based on their unique needs and progress, our patients at the Stern Center for Behavioral Health Child/Adolescent Unit either transition to outpatient care or long-term residential care. Penn Highlands offers Outpatient Services for Children & Adolescents in DuBois or Clearfield. Penn Highlands’ Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility (PRTF) Unit, known as R-Place, is located in DuBois and provides ongoing step-down inpatient care for children ages 8-18 for up to 90 days.
Frequently Asked Questions About Child & Adolescent Inpatient Behavioral Health
Child and adolescent inpatient mental health care at Penn Highlands provides intensive, short-term care in a hospital setting for patients ages 5-18 who are experiencing a mental health crisis. Residential care at Penn Highlands is in a more home-like environment and is for children and teens who need more intensive, structured treatment for up to 90 days. Penn Highlands outpatient mental health care is for children and teens with mild to severe mental health conditions who can be safely treated in an outpatient setting.
Parents can take a child or adolescent who is experiencing a mental health crisis to the Penn Highlands DuBois Emergency Department. There, your child will be assessed by a trained mental health worker, who will either recommend inpatient placement or make an outpatient services referral. Staff from schools, community mental health agencies, child and youth agencies, physicians and other professionals in the community can make referrals to the Stern Center for Behavioral Health Child/Adolescent Unit by calling 814-375-6363.
The Stern Center for Behavioral Health Child/Adolescent Inpatient Unit cares for children ages 5-18 who are experiencing a mental health crisis. Our step-down residential program for children and adolescents, Penn Highlands’ R-Place, Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility (PRTF) Unit, is for children ages 8-18 who need longer-term, intensive treatment.
Parents are a vital part of the admissions and treatment process when a child is admitted to acute inpatient behavioral health at Penn Highlands. Our team works closely with you to understand, from your perspective, where your child is struggling, their general medical history, their patterns or any potential triggers affecting their mental health and your feedback on engagement and potential treatment approaches. This initial intake process can take a few hours and is done while your child’s immediate mental health crisis is being stabilized and they are being transitioned to inpatient care.
Our case manager will be working with you on a discharge plan for your child as soon as the intake process is complete. Our goal is to safely transition your child to longer-term residential treatment or outpatient services as quickly as possible.
It can be scary and emotional to leave your child at the Stern Center for Behavioral Health Child/Adolescent Inpatient Unit while you return home, but you can be assured your child is safe from harm and receiving expert mental health care. You can call the unit at 814-375-6363 anytime for updates. You will be part of the family planning meetings and transition planning. Our team also regularly communicates with parents to receive ongoing consent for care and your engagement in the treatment plan.
Yes, Penn Highlands inpatient mental health care has a child psychiatrist on staff as well as specialized pediatric and adolescent behavioral health experts, including psychologists, physician assistants, licensed clinical social workers and licensed professional counselors.
