UVA Health Children’s and Sentara Martha Jefferson to open new clinic tomorrow

Two large medical providers in the area cut the ribbon this week on a new clinic intended to increase capacity for helping young people in need.

“I could not be prouder and more excited that UVA Health and Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital have partnered to open a new outpatient pediatric, neurodevelopmental and behavioral health clinic here in Albemarle County to meet the growing needs for care in central Virginia,” said Karin Skeen, the administrator of UVA Health Children’s.

The clinic will open for patients tomorrow at 2325 Seminole Lane in Albemarle County just to the south of the South Fork of the Rivanna River. The venture aims to provide mental health services for childrens and teens at a time when 20 percent are believed to have some sort of a condition.

“Our pediatricians in the Virginia chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics were surveyed after COVID 19 finished,” said Dr. Craig Kent, chief executive officer at UVA Health. “And the amount of anxiety amongst our children has increased 55 percent and the amount of depression has increased almost 50 percent. So I think the sum of it is there’s a need.”

One of the goals of the new center is to reduce wait times for services by bringing practitioners from many different fields under one roof according to another UVA Health executive.

“It’s going to have specialized parent child interactive therapy and what this means is it’s going to be the only clinic in our region where psychologists are going to provide real time coaching to parents supporting young children with behavioral and emotional challenges,” said Wendy Horton, CEO of UVA Health University Medical Center.

Horton said the clinic will accept all insurance types and no child will be turned away due to financial circumstances.

The project is two years in the making according to Sentara Martha Jefferson President Paul Gaden. He said he knows from personal experience how important mental health resources are for today’s youth.

“I’ve had to access these types of services and resources for someone in my family throughout their childhood and including today through their early adulthood,” Gaden said. “It’s an exhausting journey, even in communities where these resources exist. An even greater challenge to those who live in communities where they do not.”

Gaden said Sentara Martha Jefferson and UVA Health are different types of organizations, but he is hopeful more partnerships such as this one can take place in the future.

Senator Creigh Deeds (D-11) was also on hand for the ribbon-cutting and said the clinic will serve a growing need.

“We’ve seen coming out of the pandemic, a crisis, crisis in children’s mental health,” Deeds said. “We need to keep children, we need to keep people out of crisis. And the way you do that is through prevention, through preventative care. And this facility, I think, is going to help make that happen throughout Central Virginia.”

The project is financed in part through a $3 million capital campaign.

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