Imagine walking into an emergency room in the middle of a mental health crisis, only to be told you’ll have to wait —possibly for days or even weeks — before receiving the care you need. This is happening every day in Massachusetts. The mental health crisis is reaching a breaking point. It is time for our health care system to respond.

Despite Massachusetts reputation as a health care leader, we are failing many of our most vulnerable residents. At the end of 2022 the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission found that children ages 0-17 had the highest share of behavioral health related visits that resulted in 45% of patients being boarded. The prolonged uncertainty leaves families frustrated and let down with a health care system that is failing them.

The numbers tell a devastating story: according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, 34.3% of adolescents reported feeling severely sad and hopeless in 2023, 12.7% seriously considered suicide. The pandemic has only made the crisis worse, with boarding cases increasing by 76.4% in its second year of the health crisis, according to Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association.

Mental Health resources have disappeared right in front of our eyes. Western Massachusetts has been particularly impacted by mental health facility closures. It is estimated that the region lost over 70 mental health treatment beds over the last several years with available beds for adolescents being hit the hardest by closures. A new facility in Holyoke has recently opened with beds available for both adults and adolescents. Certainly, any additional beds are helpful, however, difficulty with staffing has limited the number of patients that can be admitted.

Adequate staffing with qualified treatment personnel is an ongoing problem throughout the mental health system. Our state needs to address this critical care crisis with a multi-plan approach with all stakeholders committed to addressing the issue immediately. The focus should be on providing actual in-person staff in emergency rooms specifically for mental health patients. These patients should have access to emergency response crisis team personnel to help navigate the very complex process of obtaining the treatment they need. Sitting in an emergency room at a hospital waiting for some form of treatment, that often never comes, is a complete failure of our health care system.

Massachusetts needs to work to find solutions to properly staff mental health facilities. We need to promote interest in behavioral health careers, offer work fairs, internship programs and educational or career incentives. The mental health care system today is failing patients, families and communities. This failure is a crisis that needs to be addressed today. Every day that passes without real action, is another day that someone’s child waits miserably in an emergency room for treatment that may never arrive. It needs to stop.

Ava Larkin lives in Holyoke.