This blog post was written by Danica Keeton, Director of Development and Community Relations, at Community Health Systems.
Join us on Giving Tuesday, a day that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity. Together, we can reach this important goal of $8,000 to cover the costs of a Sensory Room at our Behavioral Health Clinic by Tuesday, November 29, 2022. Your gift today will go directly toward the installation of our Sensory Room at Beloit Area Community Health Center. With the support of our community, and those passionate about mental health services, we will continue to be able to better serve our patients.
Keep reading to learn more!
The Background:
Trauma triggered by the uncertainty and isolation of the Pandemic is only just beginning to show itself, we know that there will be an uptick in the months and years to come. State and national mental health trend data has unfortunately supported this. Hospitalizations for suicidal thoughts for adolescents increased 57% between Fall of 2019 and the Fall of 2020 across this country, and it is anticipated that this will continue to hold. According to the 2021 Community Health Needs Assessment conducted by the Health Equity Alliance of Rock County (HEAR), Mental health was a topic of concern among Rock County residents throughout all modes of data collection. It is also important to note that 17% of Rock County students seriously considered suicide in 2019 and 21% of students did not receive the emotional support when they needed it. (McCoy, K. and Frederick, C. (2019). Rock County 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey Results (High School Version). Madison: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction)
What is Beloit Area Community Health Center going to do about it? 
At BACHC we have seen a consistent increase in demand for behavioral health services for youth, resulting in investment in expanding our physical location and forging partnerships with local schools to provide clinical services. As this demand continues to arise, we want to ensure that our youngest patients receive appropriate care through various methods, including a Sensory Room. A Sensory Room will allow us to enhance our delivery of care for our growing number of children with complex speech, language, and communication needs including autism, chronic anxiety disorders, and more.
The children we serve at BACHC will benefit greatly from the installation of a Sensory Room. This therapy can be helpful regardless of diagnoses and we anticipate this room serving hundreds of area youth and their families over the next year. But we cannot do this alone, we need your help and support. You can do this by joining us on Giving Tuesday, a day that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity. Together, we can reach this important goal of $8,000 to cover the costs of a Sensory Room at our Behavioral Health Clinic by Tuesday, November 29, 2022. Your gift today will go directly toward the installation of our Sensory Room at Beloit Area Community Health Center. With the support of our community, and those passionate about mental health services, we will continue to be able to better serve our patients.
So, what is a Sensory Room?
The purpose of a sensory room is to help children improve their visual, auditory and tactile processing, as well as fine and gross motor skills so that children can learn to self-regulate their behaviors, which ultimately improves focus. The purpose of a sensory room is to help children improve their visual, auditory and tactile processing, as well as fine and gross motor skills so that children can learn to self-regulate their behaviors, which ultimately improves focus (you can read more about some of the benefits here).
Sensory Rooms can open a whole new world for individuals with physical or cognitive impairments and can be used to achieve hundreds of individual goals. Examples include:
- Increasing concentration and focus
- Providing mental and physical relaxation
- Decreasing aggressive behaviors
- Developing the senses of sight, touch, and hearing
- Providing a sense of security and calmness
- Encouraging vocalization and communication
- And so much more
We hope to feature many different items in our sensory room to help with the above including, but not limited to:
To make a contribution to help BACHC install a Sensory Room, you can visit our Facebook Fundraiser or donate on our website! For more information about our Behavioral Health Services, and questions about the Sensory Room, you can call our Behavioral Health Department at 608-313-3371.
You can learn more about Giving Opportunities by contacting Danica Keeton, Director of Development and Community Relations at [email protected] or calling 608-361-0311.
