A $5.3 million donation will establish a pediatric behavioral health and wellness center at the Children’s Hospital of Georgia.
Professional golfer and Aiken native Kevin Kisner and his wife, Brittany, made the pledge through their Kevin and Brittany Kisner Foundation. Brittany Kisner worked as a speech pathologist at CHOG from 2009 to 2012.
“I saw children who needed a variety of services. The need for developmental pediatricians was there and for more comprehensive care,” Brittany Kisner said of her work at CHOG.
Nearly one in five children has a mental, emotional or behavioral disorder, such as anxiety or depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), disruptive behavior disorder, or Tourette syndrome, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Children with these disorders benefit from early diagnosis and treatment, but only about 20% of children have access to the specialized care they need, the CDC reports.
“Children are struggling. The behavioral and mental health challenges were there before the pandemic, and they’ve only escalated,” said Dr. Valera Hudson, pediatrician-in-chief at CHOG and the chair of the department of pediatrics at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University. “With the help of the Kisner Foundation, we are trying to close this gap, bringing everything into one comprehensive program, so that families can get the diagnosis, the care, the treatment and all the services they need in one place.”
The pediatric behavioral health and wellness center will provide a multidisciplinary approach to care based on each child’s needs such as testing and evaluation, referrals for psychotherapy, counseling or other mental health services, in collaboration with MCG Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; physical, occupational or speech therapy; social workers and nursing support to assist with care coordination; and connecting parents and families with ancillary support services.
“We really want to focus on the whole child,” said Brittany Kisner. “By supporting pediatric behavioral health and wellness at Children’s Hospital of Georgia, we can help ensure that families have access to vital resources their children need to grow and develop into successful adults. That’s our mission at the Kisner Foundation.”
The Kisner Foundation presented a $50,000 check to Children’s Hospital of Georgia in December 2020 toward the same initiative.
“We are deeply moved by the compassion and continued generosity of Kevin and Brittany Kisner and the Kisner Foundation and friends,” said Katrina Keefer, CEO of AU Health System, which operates the children’s hospital. “We look forward to working together to cultivate this holistic health care approach for children and families to foster a bright future for generations.”
