School and Community Partnerships
Children’s Hospital New Orleans partners with several community organizations to provide behavioral health support for pediatric populations. It is our belief that promoting wellness and providing resources will improve the health of our community. For more information about our programs or to discuss potential partnership, please contact our Community Program Manager, Dominique Burns (Dominique.Burns@LCMCHealth.org).
School initiatives
In 2019, Children’s Hospital began providing psychiatric services at a local high school’s school-based clinic in an effort to support the school’s youth and to expand access to our expert care. Staffed by a full-time social worker and a team of psychiatrists, the clinic provides ongoing mental health services for these students.
Children’s continues to expand its school-based programming to include a universal mental and behavioral health screening program and improved discharge and acute crisis coordination for students at several local schools. A Children’s Hospital health leader is dedicated to assisting these schools develop behavioral health programming and improving care coordination and communication with our Behavioral Health team. Partnering with the Department of Education, the hospital is providing school staff access to webinars, workshops and consultation sessions. Curriculum and intervention resources for children and adolescents are also included in the program.
Thrive Kids
Introduced in 2020, ThriveKids, The Student Wellness Project, is a comprehensive community-based program that provides school-based virtual care, mental and behavioral health services, sports medicine, chronic condition management, COVID-19 support, school nurse support, a dedicated hotline for school wellness and virtual care, and education and resources for schools throughout Louisiana.
Mental and behavioral health services span virtual care, in-school screenings, case management, weekly telepsychiatry services, in-person psychiatry and counseling for enrolled programs, and professional development for school team members. Nearly 1,000 behavioral health visits were completed in 2020.
Children’s Hospital understands that each school is unique and works to best support school partners with a wide range of programs and services, customized to each school’s specific needs.
Juvenile Justice Intervention Center
In 2019 Children’s Hospital partnered with the Juvenile Justice Intervention Center (JJIC), a 76-bed detention center that that provides safe and secure pre-trial detention to youths charged with committing a delinquent offense. All detained youths receive medical treatment and mental health support through two dedicated medical exam rooms and one behavioral health clinic.
Children’s provides on-site behavioral health and medical coverage, external referral management and around-the-clock call coverage. Facilities, supplies and security staff are provided by the JJIC.
As of Summer 2020, Children’s Hospital providers have completed nearly 3,000 visits to patients at the Juvenile Justice Intervention Center.
