Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Philadelphia Housing Authority Hold Community Event Introducing Expanded Pediatric Behavioral Health Services at New Center in West Philadelphia

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) yesterday hosted a community event at the Lucien E. Blackwell Community Center in West Philadelphia highlighting CHOP’s expanded behavioral and mental health services offered at the new state-of-the-art Center for Advanced Behavioral Healthcare at 4601 Market Street. The Center was established to provide additional resources to our region’s families as they continue to grapple with a growing mental health crisis.

CHOP’s new Center expands access to a range of behavioral health services, including treatments for anxiety, ADHD and eating disorders. The carefully planned and thoughtfully designed space was created specifically for children, creating a world-class, community-based hub for pediatric behavioral health services. It is a critical component in the revitalization of the iconic Provident Mutual Insurance Building into a state-of-the-art healthcare campus serving the broader Philadelphia community. The facility was created with the needs of youth in mind, with 47,000 square feet dedicated to patient care, including consultation rooms, group therapy rooms and calming areas.

At the event, seven doctors and clinicians from across CHOP’s Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry & Behavioral Health Sciences held a “fireside chat” with community members and local families, discussing the services offered at the new facility while also pointing families to existing resources in the area. This includes CHOP’s pediatric primary care offices, which serve as one of the best points of entry for accessing more specialized services.

Located at 4601 Market Street, the Center for Advanced Behavioral Healthcare is conveniently located across the street from SEPTA’s Market-Frankford Line and CHOP’s Nicolas and Athena Karabots Pediatric Care Center, one of the region’s largest sites  to provide community-based pediatric primary care.

“As we address our nation’s pediatric mental health crisis, it is imperative we do so in a way that addresses longstanding health inequities in communities like West Philadelphia,” said Stephen Soffer, PhD, Chief, Clinical & Professional Affairs, Division of Outpatient Behavioral Health at CHOP. “The newly opened CHOP Center for Advanced Behavioral Healthcare is an important part of our goal of expanding access to a wider range of behavioral health services. This discussion is a critical first step in reducing barriers to care and putting the needs of children and families in the West Philadelphia community front and center.”

“The families that we serve in West Philadelphia deserve the same access to state-of-the-art care as communities in other neighborhoods,” said Rose Bryant, Resident Leader for the Lucien E. Blackwell Community Center. “We were proud to partner with CHOP on this event to provide additional resources to our tenants and to expand access to services in the midst of this growing mental health crisis.”

It is estimated that 1 in 6 of children between the ages of 2 and 8 have a diagnosed mental, behavioral or developmental disorder. Evidence shows that disproportionately, children of color have been negatively impacted by the pandemic.

Families in the communities surrounding CHOP have not been spared from this growing crisis. Mental Health ranked #1, above access to care, chronic disease prevention and management, and substance use in the recently published Community Health Needs Assessment. In the report, more than 50 percent of youth cited mental health as the largest challenge or barrier to health in their communities.