While most hospitals have to convert medical-surgical units into psychiatry wings, PrairieCare hospital opened in February to help and heal children and adolescents with psychiatric conditions. “It’s the only thing we do,” says Dr. Stephen Setterberg, PrairieCare president and CEO.
PrairieCare offers care 24-hour, seven days a week, through its in-patient hospitalization for acute mental health treatment, as well as through a partial hospitalization program, which means patients can receive intensive care during the day while still living at home, according to Jen Holper, community relations representative. The facility has private therapy rooms for individuals, groups and families, a wide-open atrium space for patients to stay active, and craft areas for children.
In connecting with the community, Holper notes that the Maple Grove PrairieCare is working with schools to raise awareness about resources available for anyone suffering from conditions like depression and anxiety. “You get vision screenings in school,” she says, “scoliosis screenings in school, and why not a mental health screening in school to make sure that kids are getting what they need?”
Dr. Setterberg cites data from the Minnesota Department of Health when it comes to why PrairieCare is important: “If you look at the rate of suicides in this 10- to 18-year-old age range, we can see that Minnesota is about five times the national average. And if you look at the death rate from other causes, we’re at the national average generally or better in Minnesota, so this is really shocking.”
