Concord Monitor – November 20, 2024
By MICHAELA TOWFIGHI
When the doors to New Hampshire’s first psychiatric residential facility for children opened last May, advocates and state leaders celebrated the new resource that could house up to a dozen kids. Over a year later, that maximum capacity has yet to be hit – not due to demand, but a result of space restrictions. The current facility, called East Acres at Hampstead, has shared bedrooms and little space to separate kids who also may be in crisis. It’s hard to achieve a “home-like” feel with these limitations, and to best serve kids who are living there, only half of the full capacity have been admitted at a time.
A new expansion to the facility makes Justin Looser, the CEO of Hampstead Hospital, hopeful that soon they will be able to house the maximum occupancy of 12 children. “The area is nice, but it’s certainly small and that footprint would benefit from being expanded, both from a programming aspect and a patient-focus aspect,” said Looser. “This is their home for a period of time, so we really felt like to expand upon that census we needed a bigger footprint.” The Executive Council approved a $3 million contract, funded with remaining federal pandemic aid money, with Hutter Construction, a company based out of New Ipswich. The company is already contracted with the state to build a new youth detention center on the Hampstead Hospital site.
The current East Acres facility is just over 2,200 square feet. Looser said the renovation will essentially double the space and will not impact children currently in care. The project set to be completed by June 30, 2026. East Acres was a hallmark addition to New Hampshire’s array of services for kids acute mental health needs.The site is the only facility in the state that provides care for children whose needs are ranked at Level 5 – the highest designation on the Comprehensive Assessment for Treatment tool that the Bureau for Children’s Behavioral Health uses. “We are treating kids with complex trauma, often difficult behaviors and sometimes kids don’t have the best coping skills,” he said. “Having a larger space would allow us to increase the overall census to get to 12 just by having individualized rooms and more of a living space so kids aren’t on top of each other.”
For children who are accepted to the residential treatment program, the goal is a three- to six-month stay, however most have averaged longer, according to Looser. During that time, children – ages 5 to 21 – are enrolled in school, and participate in group and individualized therapy, as well as group programming, like outings to the movie theater or volunteer activities. Three kids are currently on the waitlist, according to Jake Leon, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services.
Prior to the facility opening at Hampstead Hospital, New Hampshire did not have an in-state facility that could provide psychiatric residential care for children, meaning that they were sent out of state to receive these services. Over the last year, the state’s Office of the Child Advocate has raised concerns for kids sent out of state for residential care, further amplified by a visit to a facility in Tennessee. In August, Gov. Chris Sununu signed a bill into law that provided some restrictions on out-of-state placements and preventative measures to ensure that kids were closer to New Hampshire, if possible.
The residential facility is not the only resource to face capacity issues on the Hampstead Hospital campus. The psychiatric hospital itself is only at half capacity, according to state data from November 18. Despite 71 beds available, only 33 are currently filled, with 19 children waiting. The state lists “acuity, renovation, staffing” as reasons for the for the capacity shortage. With an expanded residential program at Hampstead Hospital, Looser hopes more children can receive services closer to home. To him, the renovation contributes to a larger goal of transitioning kids out of residential care – regardless of location – and allowing them to be supported within their community.
“The overall goal is to get kids out of any type of residential or inpatient setting and back to a home setting,” he said. “In some sense, it’s really good that it is expanding, but in the midst of that expansion our goal focuses to try to get those kids the lowest level of care with the appropriate supports so that they don’t have to remain in an institution.”