(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Dr. John Walkup of Lurie Children’s Hospital was among those taking part in a so-called “behavioral health fly-in” to Washington, where mental health experts lobbied Congress and the Biden administration for more children’s mental health resources.
The doctor, who chairs the Pritzker Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at Lurie’s, said, “I think what people don’t quite understand is that about 20% of kids will have a mental health problem before they graduate from high school.”
Walkup said the pandemic really made the problem stand out. In Illinois, he said, only about half of those children are ever evaluated or treated.
That’s why Walkup was among those from the Children’s Hospital Association in the capitol talking to Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, the Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, as well as members of Congress.
Related
“Everybody is highly sensitized to this issue,” Walkup said, “And it’s really, in my career, this is the first time that I think we really have people’s ear and people are really aware.”
Walkup said more out-patient capacity and in-patient beds are needed, as well as improved training of pediatricians to recognize children with mental health problems.
“We have never really ever had a reasonable mental health system for kids,” he said. “We patch it together on the city [or] state level. Nationally, there’s really been no strong initiative.”
But now, the doctor said, people seem to be on board with the notion that childrens’ mental health problems need to be addressed.
“It’s really important now to take advantage of this urgency, if you will, to get the word out that we do have good treatments,” Walkup said. “We need to build a system that can deliver those treatments for kids.”
Walkup said when children don’t get evaluated or treated for mental issues, it leaves them — and society — paying a high price because they don’t function well in the world.
Related
Related
Listen to WBBM Newsradio now on Audacy!