When Akron Children’s relocated its inpatient behavioral health unit last month, medical professionals and administrators transformed a potentially stressful transition into a scavenger hunt.
Children followed clues, one at a time, to maneuver from the main building’s eighth floor to a new space in the Kay Jewelers Pavilion, part of a $21 million investment. Large Squishmallows awaited each of them in their new rooms.
“Instead of focusing on the anxiety of the transition, they had a purposeful activity that helped them feel more comfortable,” said Donna Koterba, director of inpatient behavioral health.
The previous unit had 24 beds; the new space has 30, with the ability to expand to 40. The new unit also includes a crisis stabilization area where parents can stay overnight with their children, along with a gym, sensory room, quiet room and outdoor space. One parent or guardian will be able to stay with the child.
The move comes as the children’s hospital responds to growing and increasingly complex behavioral health needs of youth ages 5 to 18.
The hospital’s admissions have fluctuated over the past decade but have increased overall, from 954 in 2016 to 1,241 in 2025. This year, Akron Children’s projects about 1,400 admissions.
Acuity — or the ability to hear, see, or think accurately and clearly — is harder to track, said Doug Straight, director of the behavioral health service line. “We are seeing the need for more 1:1 staffing,” he said.
Inside the new unit: Natural light, high ceilings, sensory rooms
Nursing stations are positioned directly in front of individual rooms.
The new location shortens the distance between the emergency department and inpatient behavioral health care. The ER is on the second floor of the same building, directly below the behavioral health unit, allowing patients to take an elevator directly to the unit rather than being transferred to the eighth floor.
From there, the unit offers private spaces as well as areas for children to spend time together. Each child will have a private room and bathroom. Common areas include tables, alcoves and seating nooks, said Dr. Jason Spivey Sr., the vice chair of behavioral health at Akron Children’s.
Other amenities include:
- Natural light is a priority throughout the space, with windows bringing daylight into areas that had little or no natural light in the old unit.
“A big component of this build for us was how can we get the most natural light inside all the spaces that the kids are,” Spivey said.
- High ceilings give the unit a more spacious feel, while adjustable overhead lighting allows children to choose the color of the light in their rooms, giving them some control over their surroundings.
- Safety is incorporated into the details of the space. Doors open 180 degrees to prevent children from barricading themselves inside rooms, and include other safety measures. Furniture weighs at least 50 pounds to make it more difficult to move or throw. “Everything’s designed for safety,” Spivey said. “Even the door jamb.”
- Children will have opportunities to build skills they can use after leaving the hospital. An Akron Public Schools teacher, Michelle Schertzinger, provides academic instruction to students admitted to the behavioral health floor, regardless of their home school district. She uses assignments and materials from a student’s home school when available and provides grade-level instruction and activities when they are not.
- Sensory rooms provide additional spaces for treatment and activities, with interactive monitors that can be used for games, images and calming activities.
- For children who need time outside, the unit will be enclosed by a 14-foot fence with features to prevent climbing. Patients will be accompanied by a staff member whenever they are outside.
“Sometimes we get kids that end up staying for a month or two, and they never get to see the outside,” Koterba said. “So they’ll at least be able to get some fresh air.”
Various levels of care
The new unit is divided into three levels of care: general inpatient care, crisis stabilization and high-acuity care.
The general inpatient program will continue to use a milieu-based approach, with children participating in group activities and treatment in small-group settings around the unit, not only inside a medical professional’s office.
The new crisis stabilization program will serve children experiencing a specific behavioral health crisis.
“That is a new level of care we’re offering,” Spivey said. “So that is for kids that have more of a specific crisis kind of going on, where we can address things in a shorter stay.”
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A typical stay is about one week, Spivey said. The goal is to help children return home within about three days.The high-acuity area is designed for children with significant behavioral or psychiatric needs, including self-injury, aggression toward others or psychotic illness that makes it difficult to interact safely with others.
High-acuity patients will have a staff member within arm’s reach around the clock. Rather than follow a set schedule of group activities, high-acuity patients will work individually with staff as they stabilize them and then move them to the general unit when appropriate.
“Every patient in this space would have a one-to-one staffing ratio,” Spivey said, “meaning they have a staff member … that is at arm’s length 24-7, all times.”
