New Streamwood children's center treats mental illness
A $10 million behavioral hospital expansion in Streamwood aims to give younger patients suffering from mental health ailments a new treatment option close to home.
The 30,000-square-foot addition opened last month at Streamwood Behavioral Health Systems, adding 42 beds to the 162-bed facility. The center's CEO, Cindy Meyer, said the new building will fill a void, as many medical facilities have shifted their focus to the treatment of adolescents, leaving younger patients with fewer places for care.
The new wing brings together a team of expert child psychiatrists, about whom Meyer raved.
"I'm really excited about this team and their ability to work with us and help the kids," she said.
The Streamwood center serves patients from as far as Rockford. Meyer said the closest facility offering similar services is Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove Village.
The new building includes sensory rooms, which are therapeutic spaces that provide comfort and are equipped with toys and other devices to calm and keep patients calm.
Meyer and her colleagues took feedback from the community when building the center. They decided to move forward with the addition after consulting with officials from Elgin Area Unit School District 46, local police departments and agencies including the Department of Family and Children Services.
The center hired more than 100 counselors, social workers and therapists to staff the new wing. The center's parent company, Psychiatric Solutions Inc., operates similar centers across the country and funded the endeavor.
Helping children cope with anxiety is key. Director of Inpatient Education Rick Karmik tells of a small girl who grew anxious when surrounded by loud noises, especially in the company of other noisy children. She struggled with letting the people around her know that the noise bothered her, and she acted out aggressively.
The center helped identify her problem and offer a solution: When she finds herself in situations where noise bothers her, she asks for a pair headphones, which block out the unwanted sound.
"I think that's one of the major goals, trying to help each patient self-regulate," Karmik said.
The center admits patients who suffer from autism and bipolar disorders or who exhibit aggressive behavior, as well those who are depressed and could be suicidal.
"For somebody to be in the hospital, there needs to be some serious stuff going on," said center psychologist Shawn Daugherty.
Just west of Irving Park and Barrington roads, Streamwood Behavioral Health Systems has served the area since 1991. The center is a popular destination for course work for medical students from Midwestern University in Downers Grove and University of Illinois at Chicago.