HELENA — Shodair Children’s Hospital in Helena aims to reduce stigma and encourage conversation about youth mental health through their new Hope Campaign. Montana has the highest suicide rate in the nation among kids 10 to 14 and continues to struggle with youth mental health challenges.
This year the hospital had 844 inpatient admissions with 75% having Montana Medicaid health insurance. Shodair is the only Montana hospital in the Children’s Miracle Hospital Network and the only psychiatric hospital of the network’s 175 hospitals in the US and Canada.
“We are trying to bring more awareness to what we’re doing here, the lives we continue to save, and reach out to kids and their families. I want to make them aware that this is a safe place to bring their kid to heal,” said hospital CEO Craig Aasved.
Joe McClafferty, president of the Shodair Children's Hospita Foundation, explains how this campaign will help the hospital meet patient needs: “We have $2 million a year in treatments that are not paid for by some payer or insurance; we don't want to deny anybody access, so the idea is that we use the Hope campaign to collect funds to pay for unfunded care.
The campaign features a children's book with a relatable tale about animals found in Montana's ecosystem. The book will be distributed for free across the state to encourage children to discuss mental health and their feelings.
“We have a firefly who can't light up anymore, representing a patient or person in darkness. Then it runs into a bison attacking a storm and running through it, and the bison teaches that firefly some things that give it a purpose,” said McClafferty.
While the firefly is fittingly named Hope, you can submit your name for the bison and support the campaign by clicking here.
