Golisano Children’s Hospital

Golisano Children’s Hospital is part of the UR Medicine health system in Upstate New York. The Hospital’s Pediatric Behavioral Health and Wellness Program delivers inpatient, partial hospital, and outpatient mental health services for infants, children, and adolescents, and their families in the entire Finger Lakes region of New York State. A multidisciplinary team of providers treats patients with depression, anxiety, psychosis, substance use disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other behavioral and emotional conditions. Learn more

With the advent of COVID-19, the Program worked very hard to ensure that outpatient behavioral health services were never closed. Zoom encrypted appointments were set up within one week. For some families, telehealth has removed barriers to care, e.g., a long drive. Telehealth also offers therapists the opportunity to see children and their families in their own homes and observe both the environment and interactions among family members.

If families do not have Internet, they are offered telephone or face-to-face appointments. If families want to be seen face-to-face, they are sent information about safety precautions (“What We Will Do, What You Need To Do”) beforehand.

The Family Advisory Board (FAB) is facilitated by Linda Alpert-Gillis, Ph.D., Director, Pediatric Behavioral Health & Wellness Outpatient Services and the Laboratory of Innovation in Child Mental Health Care Delivery at UR Medicine. The FAB was started over 10 years ago as an offshoot of UR Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry Advisory Council of Consumers (DPACC). The FAB includes both parents and youth; typically, 10 participate at each meeting.

Since the advent of COVID, the FAB has been meeting virtually. The first Zoom meeting was planned for an hour but families were so engaged that they met for 90 minutes. According to Alpert-Gillis, “Holding meetings on Zoom has enabled more families to participate since it removes barriers such as transportation, childcare, and travel time. Parent and family voice has been essential to the operation and thoughtful expansion of our services.”

Golisano Community Conversations Flyer

In partnership with the National Parent Leadership Institute (NPLI) and with grant support from the Greater Rochester Health Foundation an additional Family Advisory Group was created. As part of the recruitment process, clinicians were asked for recommendations for potential family advisors who reflected the diversity of families served. The FAB and the Family Advisory Group have contributed to the following projects:

Series of Community Conversations that have attracted over 200 participants on topics including “Helping Children Cope with the New Normal,” addressing issues related to back-to-school and how to maintain socialization and social connections while social distancing. Other topics include, “Partnering with Schools During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency,” “What to Expect when Looking for and Getting Behavioral Health Services for Children and Teens,” and “What you Need to Know about Deciding If and When to Use Medication for Behavioral Health Challenges in Youth.” Topics for Community Conversations were determined both by community-based research conducted by Aparajita Kuriyan, Ph.D. and FAB input. Information about the Conversations is disseminated through Golisano Children’s Hospital website and social media and through affiliations with local school districts and community-based organizations. Learn more

  • A list of Community Resources for Families and Youth with Behavioral Health Challenges During the COVID-19 Crisis was developed and distributed in partnership with 30 community organizations, including the Ibero-American Action League and Foodlink Food Bank in NYS. Recognizing that not all families have access to the Internet, the resources are also available in paper copy.
  • Annotated list of resources, co-developed by the Family Advisory Board and the Family Advisory Group, is sent to all families requesting behavioral health services. This curated list of resources also is available online.
  • A parent support group for parents whose children receive services at Pediatric Behavioral Health and Wellness.