The first Southwest Colorado Pediatric Mental Health Symposium, hosted last week by Children’s Hospital Colorado, brought rural and metro-area youth professionals together to discuss the state of youth mental health in the area – which is reflecting more dire data than that of the state on the whole, according to experts at the event.
Youth mental health has been a continuous issue in the region. It reached a fever pitch in 2021, when a youth mental health state of emergency was declared for Colorado. Since then, notable progress has been made on a state level; but concern for the mental well-being of youth still persists, especially in more rural areas of Colorado, said Children’s Hospital Colorado Chief of Psychology Jessica Hawks.
The symposium, held Monday and Tuesday on the Fort Lewis College campus, attracted over 100 primary care clinicians, school administrators, school nurses, mental health practitioners and other relevant community members, Hawks said.
The two-day event included presentations from a realm of clinicians and experts. Topics included identifying common mental health concerns in youth; responding to mental health crises; ensuring chronic absenteeism is addressed; employing parents as partners in addressing youth struggles; and best practices surrounding care for students with autism, OCD, PTSD and other diagnoses.
Interactive breakout activities, like round tables and case discussions, also took place.
Despite the forward strides made in the past few years on a state level in addressing youth mental health and suicide rates, some concern is still present, Hawks said.
From 2020 through 2024, Children’s Hospital Colorado reported a 55.7% increase in inpatient admissions, as well as an increase in patient acuity – meaning severity of cases treated related to youth mental health.
Demand for mental health services among pediatric patients outpaced the increase in demand for all other patient groups within the hospital’s system during that time as well, according to a news release issued in May by the hospital.
In 2024, over 11,000 pediatric patients received mental health care across the Children’s Hospital system, including inpatient, partial hospitalization and outpatient care, and just over 7,000 youth patients visited the four emergency departments across the Children’s Hospital Colorado system for mental health concerns, according to the release. These numbers mark a slight increase since 2023, and reflect a plateau in emergency department visits consistent with pre-pandemic numbers.
For youth in rural Colorado, numbers reflect more dire circumstances, Hawks said.
“We know that our rural communities have greater risk, and a lot of that is access to care, access to trained experts in the area,” Hawks said. “(Lack of access is) a risk factor in many ways when it comes to mental health, which is a big proponent of why we've seen those rates higher for suicide attempts and completions in the southwest corner for the last five years – they've had some of the highest rates in the country.”
One of the presenters, Lauren Henry, licensed child psychologist at Children’s Hospital Colorado, said the La Plata community has been expressing a need for more support from Front Range partners like Children’s in supporting youth mental health.
“All of the (presentation) topics are (related to) what La Plata and the southwest corner have really expressed struggling with here,” Henry said.
Haley Bierk, program manager at Children’s, said the event was intentionally held during the back to school transition in order to supply local youth professionals with a “trick bag” of interventions related to youth mental health as the school year progresses.
Sallie Kautter, school counselor at Needham Elementary, said youth mental health struggles – especially anxiety – have been seen across all grades in the area, including elementary students.
“It’s really important to be here, because we do see issues, (and it’s) important to know how to support (students), and just be up to date on best practices, and how we address their needs and work with families,” Kautter said.
Jason St. Mary, executive director of La Plata Youth Services, said collaborations from the Front Range like the symposium matter for a small community like this one.
“We need support, especially in this day and age, where funding is uncertain,” St. Mary said. “It’s important for us to have these strategic partnerships. There’s such a nice eclectic mix of people here, between primary care providers, social workers, educators ... (all) coming together to learn, in a centralized format.”
St. Mary said lack of access to mental health care is especially prominent for youths with marginalized identities who work with the organization.
For help
If you or someone you know is experiencing thoughts of suicide, call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, the 24-hour Axis Care Hotline at 247-5245, or visit the La Plata County Suicide Prevention Collaborative website at https://www.lpcsuicideprevention.com/mental-behavioral-health-resources
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