Colorado Children’s Hospital Reports Sharp Rise in Youth Mental Health Emergencies

By Esteban L. Hernandez | Axios Denver

Children’s Hospital Colorado saw pediatric ER visits involving mental health concerns jump about 65% from 2019 to 2025, and the number could climb even higher this year, hospital officials tell us.

Why it matters: The surge comes as Colorado records some of the highest suicide rates among children and young adults in the country.

State of play: Children’s Hospital projects roughly 7,300 mental health-related ER visits among patients 18 and younger this year across its four campuses, child psychiatrist Beau Carubia tells Axios.

• That would be a roughly 74% increase from 2019.

• Inpatient psychiatric admissions — typically reserved for some of the most serious cases — increased 50% between 2019 and 2025, Carubia says.

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