Children’s of Mississippi expands psychiatric care as Friends commits $1.5M to child unit renovation

Children’s of Mississippi is expanding inpatient psychiatric services through a $1.5 million renovation commitment for its child inpatient psychiatric unit. 

The gift will help create an environment that better supports the mental health and wellbeing of children from across Mississippi.  

The Children’s Acute Inpatient Psychiatric Unit is the state’s only pediatric hospital-based mental health treatment facility. The 12-bed unit provides short-term care with private rooms for children ages 4–12 experiencing significant emotional and psychiatric challenges, including aggression, anxiety, depression, self-harm tendencies and developmental delays that are not being successfully managed at home or school. 

“Psychiatric care is one of the most urgent health care needs facing children today,” said Dr. Mary Taylor, Suzan B. Thames Chair of Pediatrics and CEO of Children’s of Mississippi.  “Our inpatient unit provides individualized, multidisciplinary treatment for children in acute crisis and this renovation ensures that the physical environment matches the excellence of the care being delivered inside it.” 

Renovating this unit will support both physical and therapeutic needs by creating a more healing-oriented environment that promotes comfort, dignity and recovery. 

“Friends of Children’s Hospital is proud to fund the renovation of the Child Psychiatric Unit,” said Mary Clift Abdalla, board chairman of Friends of Children’s Hospital. “Our mission is to elevate the health care experience for all of Mississippi’s children, and our board felt strongly that this project aligns perfectly with that mission. This renovation ensures that the Child Psychiatric Unit continues the recent efforts to update the hospital’s spaces and will create a brighter, more uplifting environment for children receiving psychiatric care.” 

“This extraordinary commitment from Friends of Children’s Hospital reflects the power of philanthropy to transform care,” said Meredith Aldridge, executive director of development at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. “Thanks to the board and Friends’ generous supporters, we are able to enhance the environment where children receive critical behavioral health services, creating spaces that promote dignity, safety and healing.” 

With Friends’ support, the unit will be better equipped to serve children and families at some of their most vulnerable moments, strengthening the continuum of care across the state. 

“Mississippi continues to see a growing need for pediatric psychiatric services,” said Dr. Mark Ladner, chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at UMMC. “Our current hospital based unit has been supporting this continued need for child inpatient psychiatric care. The renovation strengthens our capacity to provide safe, high-quality treatment at a time when families need it most. It will also provide an improved environment for training of our students, residents and fellows.”