Officials at UW Health Reporting "Dramatic Increase" in Adolescents Coming to the ER for Attempted Suicide

Monday, January 23rd, 2023 -- 11:01 AM

(By Hope Kirwan, Wisconsin Public Radio) Officials at UW Health are reporting a "dramatic increase" in the number of adolescents coming to the emergency room for attempted suicide or suicidal ideation.

According to Hope Kirwan with Wisconsin Public Radio, in 2022, UW Health’s pediatric emergency department saw more than 40 patients per month who required psychiatric care. That's almost three times the number seen a decade earlier, according to a press release. The greatest increase in cases has been due to suicidal ideation and drug or alcohol intoxication or overdose.

Shanda Wells, pediatric behavioral health specialist at UW Health, said not only are more kids coming in for help, but those that do have more symptoms of severe anxiety and depression than she's seen in the past. And Wells said the situation is starting to feel desperate for those working in health care.

"There aren't that many clinicians like myself who have the specialized kind of training needed in order to see children," she said. "So there just really aren't as many of us as there needs to be right now for the amount of kids who need help."

Wells said the situation is even more challenging because of record high numbers of kids who need care for respiratory illnesses like RSV and influenza. She said pediatric ERs across the country are full because of both issues.

She said many of the patients who are struggling with suicide are in their teens, but younger teens and preteens are also starting to be more severely affected. UW Health reported that children younger than 14 years old had the highest increase in psychiatric visits in the last four years, while kids 14- to 17- years old have presented at a consistently high rate since 2018.

"Some kids absolutely struggle with this long term," Wells said. "But I think just because of the sheer numbers, we're seeing plenty of folks too who maybe this is new. Like maybe families didn't know that their child was feeling depressed or anxious."

Wells said the spike in mental health needs started during the COVID-19 pandemic. But she said providers are starting to question whether the rise in cases will subside now that life has largely returned to normal.

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