CareSource Donates $2 Million to Support Dayton Children’s Behavioral Health Expansion

(DAYTON, Ohio – October 12, 2022) Dayton Children’s announced today a $2 million donation by CareSource to support its new behavioral health building. The building, announced in May, will nearly double the number of inpatient beds available for children in a behavioral health crisis.

The $2 million donation from CareSource was made in honor of Jayda Grant, daughter of Anthony Grant, University of Dayton men’s basketball coach, and his wife, Christina. Jayda passed away in May 2022. The donation was announced last night at an event held at the home of CareSource president and CEO, Erhardt Preitauer, to an audience of corporate leaders from the Dayton community.

“The conversation around behavioral health must focus on the well-being of children,” said Preitauer. “Working together to expand the behavioral health resources at Dayton Children’s not only honors the light and love Jayda and her family have brought to our community, it is paramount in addressing the whole health of our youngest community members.”

While children’s mental health concerns were growing rapidly prior to the pandemic, COVID-19 only exacerbated the already untenable situation. Even though Dayton Children’s opened a behavioral health inpatient unit in July 2019, those 24 beds are not enough to care for the growing need. The new behavioral health building, breaking ground next year, will:

• Double the number of behavioral health inpatient beds currently available at Dayton Children’s
• Allow expansion for specialized program development
• Allow for strengthened and smoother continuity of care by bringing behavioral health inpatient, outpatient and crisis services all under one roof
• Provide customized outdoor space that is critical to healing
• Create operational efficiencies and improved communication through cross-trained staff, proximity and access

“We are so grateful to CareSource for its support and for shining a light on this critically important issue,” said Debbie Feldman, president and CEO of Dayton Children’s Hospital. “This donation will go a long way toward helping us meet the growing need for behavioral health services. As always, it is the gracious support of a generous community that helps us take every project from good to great.”

Last year, more than 200,000 of CareSource’s youth members had an identified behavioral health diagnosis.

Regarding CareSource’s donation, Anthony and Christina Grant provided the following on behalf of their family:

“We are very grateful to CareSource for their generous donation to support the expansion of the Dayton Children’s Behavioral Health Facility and their compassion towards our family by honoring the memory of our beloved daughter and sister, Jayda Danielle Grant. Jay was diagnosed with anxiety and depression and was in therapy and treatment at the time of her passing. Our hope is that this expansion will help provide more resources and increased synergy to what Debbie Feldman has appropriately identified as ‘the health care crisis of this generation.’ We are grateful for the love, prayers, and support we’ve received and for the commitment of the doctors, therapist, corporate & individual partners, and everyone in between that are working to make a difference in the lives of those impacted by Mental & Behavioral Health challenges. Thank you and God Bless.”

Dayton Children’s behavioral health building is expected to be complete in 2025.  To donate to this important cause, please contact philanthropy@childrensdayton.org.

About CareSource
CareSource is a nonprofit, nationally recognized managed care organization with over 2 million members. Headquartered in Dayton, Ohio since its founding in 1989, CareSource administers one of the largest Medicaid managed care plans in the U.S. The organization offers health insurance, including Medicaid, Health Insurance Marketplace, Medicare Advantage and dual-eligible programs. Through its network of health plans, CareSource serves members in Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia. The company is leading the way in serving populations with complex needs and extended its presence into 12 additional states with the acquisition of The Columbus Organization, a trusted partner to health care agencies and provider organizations in improving coordination and support for individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities and behavioral health challenges through its staffing, quality improvement and care coordination services. As a mission-driven organization, CareSource is transforming health care with innovative programs that address the social determinants of health, health equity, prevention and access to care.

For more, visit www.caresource.com, follow @caresource on Twitter, or like CareSource on Facebook.  

About Dayton Children’s Hospital

One of only 31 independent freestanding children’s hospitals in the country, Dayton Children’s is the region’s only medical facility dedicated to children. Accredited by The Joint Commission and serving 20 Ohio counties and eastern Indiana, the experts at Dayton Children’s care for more than 320,000 children each year. Consistently recognized as one of the country’s best and most cost-effective pediatric hospitals, Dayton Children’s is home to the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics and together with the United States Air Force shares the nation’s only civilian-military integrated pediatric training program. For more children’s health and safety information, visit our web site at www.childrensdayton.org.