CHOC opens up psychiatric access line to help kids with mental health issues

In its ongoing efforts to improve mental health care for children and adolescents, Children’s Hospital of Orange County has started a pediatric psychiatric access line, the first of its kind in the county.
This line, which is initially answered by a social worker, connects pediatricians treating children with mental illnesses with board-certified psychiatrists in about an hour, said Heather Huszti, pediatric psychologist at CHOC. The program has been funded with a $200,000 grant from the J