Carrier Clinic in Belle Mead has opened an expansion adding 52 inpatient beds for young patients. The 43,000-square-foot project lowers the clinic’s minimum treatment age from 12 to 7, according to Hackensack Meridian Health.
Capacity and services
The health system says Carrier has seen a nearly 30 percent increase in recent years in youth admissions involving mental illness, substance use disorder, or both. The expansion adds multisensory treatment rooms and an academic center for clinician training; patient recreation areas include a basketball court, according to MyCentralJersey. Hackensack Meridian Health says the project also includes the Cohen Community Resource & Education Center.
Funding reports differ
The Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation provided a $10 million grant for the resource and education center, according to Hackensack Meridian Health. Reports give different figures for state support: MyCentralJersey reported that lawmakers secured $10 million in state funding, while NJ 101.5 reported that Hackensack Meridian Health executive Kenneth Esser described $30 million as coming from outside contributions, including $15 million from the state.
Youth care needs extend beyond New Jersey
Hackensack Meridian Health cites national data indicating that nearly one in three young people ages 12 to 17 had a mental, emotional, developmental, or behavioral problem in 2022-2023. The health system also reports that two in five high school students experienced persistent sadness or hopelessness in 2023, and that suicide is the second-leading cause of death for children ages 10 to 14.
A separate project in California offers another example of efforts to expand youth inpatient capacity. Santa Clara County’s $470 million Behavioral Health Pavilion was set to begin treating patients Tuesday, with 35 of its 77 inpatient beds for children and adolescents, KQED reported. Officials there estimated the youth beds could serve roughly 1,500 children a year. The report also said nearly two-thirds of roughly 375 county children placed in acute psychiatric care in 2025 were sent to facilities outside the county.
Dr. Catherine Cunningham told MyCentralJersey that national emergency mental health visits among youth rose from 4.8 million in 2011 to 7.5 million in 2020.
