Reply to Please walk me through what happens when you bring a suicidal child to the ER

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[quote=Anonymous]I took DC to Inova Fairfax last year. DC was 18, so might be different for a younger child.

The things that surprised me the most were:

1. DC could not have any of their belongings - phone, stuffed animal, clothes, even earrings had to be removed and were stored elsewhere.

2. After many, many hours of waiting, DC was assessed by a counselor and determined to be at risk of harming themselves. At that point, our choices were to 1) have DC voluntarily admit themselves or 2) have the hospital petition the court to involuntarily admit. There was no option that would have allowed DC to leave. The hospital cannot take the risk DC would leave and harm themself.

3. DC was taken by ambulance to another hospital with open psych beds. Once there, they had a private room and bathroom and could wear their own clothing as long as it had no strings (including shoelaces and sweatshirt/sweatpant drawstrings).

It was deeply traumatic for both of us but also the only thing we could do at that point. I don't regret taking DC to the ER but also desperately hope we never have to do it again.[/quote]

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