Refer to Our Mental Health Program

Outpatient Mental Health Care at CHKD

We are working hard to build a Mental Health Service Line with care access opportunities for all children in need. We currently have a high volume of requests and partner with mental health agencies outside of CHKD to ensure all children referred receive an appropriate treatment resource. Please give our team 5-10 business days to review referrals and connect families to resources.

• A letter will be mailed to the family and referring provider to indicate if the family is on a waitlist or if community resources were provided to the family to best support.
• If you, your families, or your staff have any questions or concerns please contact our main office number at (757) 668-4673.
• If your patient has an urgent/acute mental health concern and they require immediate assessment, recommend mental health evaluation at the closest emergency room or the CHKD Emergency Department or call 911.

Inpatient and Emergency Mental Health Care at CHKD

Children’s Pavilion (CPAV) is a 60-bed inpatient psychiatric hospital and outpatient center for children owned and operated by Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters. The Pavilion is a new, free-standing facility located on the same Norfolk campus as CHKD’s main hospital.

Providers from community emergency departments who want to refer patients for direct admission to Children’s Pavilion should send psychiatric evaluation and medical clearance information to our dedicated fax line: CPAV Direct Admissions at (757) 668-2047.

CPAV intake nurses will review the information and communicate directly with referring ED providers until the clinical information is complete, and a determination to accept or deny the patient is made. If CPAV is able to admit the patient, the intake nurse will work with the nurse from the referring facility to arrange needed consents/signatures and transport. All communication regarding admission is with the CPAV intake nurse at (757) 668-4746.

Open Units:

• General Psychiatric Unit
• 4-bed Neurodevelopmental Track (NDT) of general psychiatry with enhanced features, such as social skills groups.
• 8-bed Psychiatric Medical Unit is scheduled to open in 2024 to serve patients with a primary psych diagnosis who have a chronic medical comorbidity.

Admission Criteria:

• Between the ages of 6 and 17.
• Medically cleared. No lines, tubes, ports, etc. Does not require active treatment in a medical setting.
• Admission to NDT requires additional information from parents. Referring providers can request a special neurodevelopmental admissions packet or request admission to general psychiatric unit, and parents can provide additional information after admission.

Exclusionary Criteria:

• Age under 6 or over age 17.
• Primary diagnosis of substance use or need for detox treatment.
• Moderate or profound intellectual disability or
• Autism spectrum disorder level 2 or 3
• Severe and chronic aggressive behaviors.
• Not medically cleared. Requires active treatment in a medical setting.

Transport Information:

• Children’s Pavilion is located at 401 Gresham Drive, Norfolk, 23507, on the same campus as CHKD’s main hospital, Sentara Norfolk General, and EVMS.
• Transport drivers should ring the bell upon arriving at the garage bay, located where the red dot is on the map.
• CHKD Security will meet the transport in the bay to begin admission.
• If there is already a transport in the bay, or the bay is full, CHKD security will ask the transport to wait in the staging area, located across Gresham Drive from Children’s Pavilion where the green dot is on the map.

Partial Hospitalization Program at CHKD

We will consider all referrals from members of the community including parents, legal guardians, and medical providers. PHP may be recommended in response to escalating mental health needs for children and adolescents age 10-17. This is often in response to a sudden increase in mental health symptoms, difficulties maintaining previous functioning, or an emerging safety concern. Alternatively, PHP may also be recommended as a step-down from residential or acute hospital-based programs.

Internal Referrals from CHKD Providers: Internal referrals can be submitted via referral management. Please be sure to send a Powerchart Message referencing the referral to the program's practice manager, Victoria Ferguson.

External Referrals from Community Members: Community referrals are accepted by phone during program administrative hours. Please call (757) 668-5932 to be connected to our partial hospitalization practice manager.