Children's Hospital Colorado Appoints Inaugural Mental Health-In-Chief For Children
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - Children's Hospital Colorado is setting more resources aside for children's and teen's mental health. They appointed their first-ever Mental Health-in-Chief.
Dr. K. Ron-Li Liaw is a child and adolescent psychiatrist with areas of expertise in "trauma and resilience, co-occurring medical and mental health issues and children's and families' responses to acute and chronic stress, among others."
"We're pleased to welcome Dr. Liaw to the Children's Colorado family and welcome her vision, energy and leadership, especially as we reimagine our response to crisis care and expand our mental health inpatient, outpatient and day treatment services across our system of care. Dr. Liaw's position as mental health-in-chief is on the same level as our pediatrician-in-chief or surgeon-in-chief, and this leadership role ensures that pediatric mental health is top of mind for every major decision we make as a children's hospital," said President and CEO Jena Hausmann.
Liaw's experience starts with her "bachelor's degree in anthropology at Rice University, her medical degree at Baylor College of Medicine, her psychiatry training at Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital and McLean Hospital, and her child psychiatry training at NYU Langone Health and Bellevue Hospital. "
The hospital reports a full inpatient psychiatric unit for more than a year, with multiple patients with suicidal ideation. They say stress from the pandemic, including disruptions to daily life, isolation and grief, are playing a major role.
"From January through mid-October 2021, across our pediatric system, 70% more children came to our emergency departments due to a mental health crisis, compared to the same time period before the pandemic in 2019," hospital officials state.
Find more resources about crisis intervention by calling Colorado Crisis Services at 1-844-493-8255 or text "TALK" to 38255. Robbie's Hope offers help with teens fighting suicidal thoughts or actions.
More resources include the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or Colorado's Safe2Tell program.
