Hospitals becoming a 'dumping ground' for kids

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Children successful authorities custody are spending months successful Tennessee hospitals due to the fact that the Department of Children's Services has nary spot other to enactment them.

The children person been medically cleared but necktie up infirmary beds that could beryllium utilized by others, particularly during times of heightened demand.

One kid spent much than 9 months — 276 days — surviving astatine a children's infirmary aft helium should person been released.

Some infirmary officials archer NewsChannel 5 Investigates they are becoming a dumping crushed for kids DCS cannot place.

The Children's Hospital Alliance of Tennessee (CHAT), which represents children's hospitals statewide, said successful a connection the children "account for galore hundreds of further days successful which infirmary attraction is not needed."

TennCare covers the outgo of infirmary attraction for children successful DCS custody but would not disclose however overmuch taxpayers are spending connected the extended stays.

The Department of Children's Services said these kids are hard to spot successful foster care, and due to the fact that they are medically fragile, they cannot enactment successful DCS bureau buildings similar immoderate different children person been doing.

It often starts successful a pediatric exigency room.

A DCS caseworker takes a kid to the infirmary with a existent aesculapian problem.

Usually the children person conscionable been removed from an abusive oregon neglectful home.

But erstwhile the infirmary says the kid tin leave, DCS says they person nary spot for the kid to go.

State Sen. Heidi Campbell, D-Nashville, was disturbed by the details we showed her.

"Our authorities is failing. I deliberation we've failed these children and we've rather frankly failed DCS," Campbell said.

Examples see a 10-year-old with Muscular Dystrophy who stayed for 103 days astatine the East Tennessee Children's Hospital successful Knoxville.

DCS could not find a placement for the kid aft his parent died of COVID and his begetter could not attraction for him.

Another 10-year-old with terrible autism was housed for 51 days successful the aforesaid hospital.

He was yet sent to a installation retired of authorities due to the fact that DCS did not person a spot for him.

And an insulin-dependent diabetic stayed for days due to the fact that infirmary notes uncover "DCS would not instrumentality (the child) to bureau owed to insulin shots required."

"To take betwixt bureau floors and hospitals is not a tenable choice," Sen. Campbell said.

DCS near a kid with a intelligence wellness diagnosis astatine Vanderbilt Children's Hospital for 270 days.

The kid occupied a country from May of 2021 done February of 2022.

The bureau near different kid astatine a infirmary successful Johnson City for 243 days, agelong aft the kid should person been released.

DCS Commissioner Margie Quin, who took implicit the bureau successful September, told Gov. Bill Lee, R-Tennessee, during fund hearings the bureau has been getting calls from hospitals acrophobic astir kids staying long-term.

"These are younker that are highly hard to place," Quin said.

"They are staying 100 days successful hospitals, and they are not acutely ill, but they can't enactment successful an office, and they are not due successful transitional homes," Quin told the Governor.

DCS has a shortage of foster attraction homes and arsenic a effect has been forced to person immoderate children slumber successful bureau buildings.

A DCS lawyer said "children successful wheelchairs tin besides beryllium hard to place. The hardest situations are those with some aesculapian and behavioral/mental wellness needs."

Commissioner Quin requested much than $8.7 cardinal to money "Assessment Treatment Homes" that would beryllium located crossed the authorities and would support immoderate of the medically hard-to-place kids.

"They truly request specialized care, and we conscionable don't person programming for them," Commissioner Quin said successful the fund hearing.

Sen. Campbell can't judge the authorities is often choosing betwixt bureau floors and infirmary rooms.

"Let's beryllium liable and springiness the wealth to DCS that we request to instrumentality attraction of children," Campbell said.

"Our authorities has much wealth close present than we've had successful decades, successful reserves, and determination is perfectly nary crushed wherefore we can't marque definite that we are taking attraction of our astir vulnerable," Campbell said.

Lee signaled successful the fund proceeding that helium was consenting to money requests from DCS for much money.

But adjacent if the fund petition is approved, it is months distant from helping — raising questions astir what tin beryllium done now.

"These are issues we should perfectly beryllium capable to woody with successful the Department of Children's Services without sending kids to the hospital," Senator Campbell said.

Here is the afloat connection from the Children's Hospital Alliance of Tennessee (CHAT):

"Children's hospitals service arsenic the information nett for the carnal and intelligence wellness and well-being of children and adolescents. For astir a decade, children's hospitals, successful TN and nationally, person seen a important summation successful the fig of younker presenting with a superior intelligence wellness diagnosis, due to the fact that of the deficiency of readily disposable services and a fragmented transportation strategy for those services.

Another radical of children uncovering themselves admitted to the children's hospitals successful our authorities are those successful DCS custody. These younker are often brought to pediatric exigency rooms due to the fact that of a existent aesculapian oregon behavioral need. However, erstwhile they are acceptable for discharge, DCS teams are challenged with uncovering due placement options, thereby delaying discharge. While these children stay successful hospitals, it ties up resources that could beryllium utilized by different children. Lengths of infirmary stays crossed the authorities scope from respective days to months, with 1 children's infirmary reporting the longest enactment of 276 days.

Collectively, these patients relationship for galore hundreds of further days successful which infirmary attraction is not needed. DCS often cites constricted to nary placement options and struggles with insufficient resources to adequately unit and enactment these children successful their care. New DCS Commissioner, Margie Quin, precocious acknowledged the contented of agelong infirmary stays for immoderate children and has outlined a program to tackle this and different issues DCS faces done important measures specified arsenic much backing and accrued grooming and accrued enactment for lawsuit workers.

Mary Nell Bryan, President of the Children’s Hospital Alliance of Tennessee, said, “The Children’s Hospital Alliance of Tennessee appreciates that the employees of the Department of Children’s Services enactment hard to code challenges successful uncovering foster homes for children who are medically fragile oregon dealing with chronic aesculapian conditions, specified arsenic diabetes.. There are sometimes not capable due places for specified transfers to hap quickly. We admit that Commissioner Quin has requested much backing and outlined a program that includes accrued grooming and accrued enactment for lawsuit workers. The enactment of DCS lawsuit workers and different DCS staffers is vitally important. As tin besides beryllium said astir those who enactment successful hospitals, portion this enactment tin contiguous challenges, it is besides highly rewarding. We impulse families to see fostering children who are medically fragile oregon who are dealing with a chronic information specified arsenic diabetes.”