Shortage Of Mental Health Providers Is Taking A Toll On Hawaii Teens

From 2012 to 2016, 47 Hawaii youths ages 10 to 19 killed themselves.

A shortage of mental health providers is one of the obstacles to providing mental health care to youths, to the point that extreme cases sometimes get sent to the mainland. Currently, 14 Hawaii youths are at specialized treatment facilities thousands of miles from home.

“Honestly, I don’t think that there will ever come a day where we will not have to use the resources of other states as a last resort,” said Lynn Fallin, deputy director of the Behavioral Health Services Administration at the Department of Health.

According to a 2015 report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, only 30 percent of adolescents ages 12 to 17 were treated for their depression in Hawaii.

The limited access is one result of Hawaii’s overall shortage of health care professionals. According to the University of Hawaii annual systems report to the 2017 Legislature, the state is short about 500 physicians overall, and specifically is in need of 15 more psychiatrists.

Read more: http://www.civilbeat.org/2017/10/shortage-of-mental-health-providers-is-taking-a-toll-on-hawaii-teens/