The July/August issue of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry News features an article by Gabrielle Carlson, MD and colleagues titled Saving a Child Psychiatry Program – “It took a village.”
The article describes the “Save 12 North” campaign from the time the department learned that state budget cuts might force the closing of the inpatient child psychiatry program to the hospital’s announcement that 12 North had been spared as the result of an outpouring of community support.
Dr. Carlson and her colleagues—Deborah Weisbrot, MD, Deborah Lane and Michael McClain—recount the assistance they received from professional organizations and community advocates, the steps in their outreach campaign, and their contacts with elected officials and local media. They attribute their success to the hospital’s support of the inpatient program, the success of advocacy efforts in restoring some state funding to the hospital, and the demonstration to the hospital and elected officials of an active constituency for child psychiatry.
