Cedar

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) opened the Behavioral Health and Crisis Center (BHCC) at the PHMC Public Health Campus on Cedar in February 2024 to provide a place of hope and healing for patients and their families and to deliver high-quality and compassionate care. CHOP’s team has worked tirelessly to create an environment where compassion, expertise and innovation come together.

As we look to the future, our partners at CHOP are committed to continuing this work, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in behavioral health care, and ensuring that every child who walks through our doors receives the best possible care.

Key Achievements

As we reflect on the BHCC’s first year, we are proud to share some of its incredible milestones:

Cared for more than 2,200 children through its Crisis Response Center.
Welcomed more than 370 admissions to its inpatient units, caring for patients with complex medical histories who often cannot be admitted elsewhere.
Extended services to patients from six states and three countries, underscoring CHOP’s growing reputation as a leader in behavioral health care.
Provided specialized care through single-room accommodations, an option not commonly available at other psychiatric hospitals.
Cared for children as young as five years old, demonstrating the BHCC’s ability to meet the needs of the most vulnerable patients.
Established a nursing professional governance structure, with all five units’ chair positions filled, strengthening our commitment to professional excellence.

Looking Ahead: Expanding Our Impact

In early April, CHOP opened 10 more beds for children ages 7 to 17 in the BHCC. An additional 16 beds will open in early 2026, increasing the total number to 46. The BHCC is evaluating its admission criteria to determine how to best support patients with behavioral health needs, in addition to the larger CHOP community.

Linked Family Services (LFS) empowers and uplifts families through programs that promote healthy childhood development, support Black maternal health and strengthen parent-child relationships. Its eight-week summer parenting class, “Restoring Family Values: A Pathway to Value-Based Parenting,” equips participants with practical parenting tools, emotional regulation strategies and co-parenting guidance. The course is approved by court and child welfare systems and includes certificates upon completion. Learn more and register here.

LFS connects families to essential resources, education and support systems that lay the foundation for long-term wellness and generational success. Programs include resource connections, maternal health services, early literacy for the whole family, caregiver support and baby essentials bundles.

To learn more about LFS, visit www.linkedfamily.org, call 267.594.3844 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Child First, a program operated by Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC), provides evidence-based early childhood mental health services through home visits to children ages 0-5 years and their families. The program focuses on serving those who have been impacted by trauma, abuse, poverty, and other challenges. As the first provider of Child First services in Pennsylvania, PHMC’s program has delivered care to families since November 2022.

Child First provides integrated psychotherapeutic interventions that are embedded in an early childhood system of care. Families who are either on the waitlist or have been newly admitted into the program are offered monthly virtual calls led by clinicians, caregivers currently involved in the program and family resource coordinators. Additionally, care coordination and case management support are provided. Child First aims to disrupt intergenerational trauma and cycles of generational poverty by improving child and parent mental health and resilience, promoting school readiness and decreasing child abuse and neglect.

To make a referral to Child First, please complete their referral form and email it to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

***Please note that the referral form is in the process of being updated, and a new version will be circulated in the near future.

Felicia Maxwell-Graham is the founder of Resurrection to Life7/Fold Ministry and an ordained minister with a heart for serving communities and compassion for helping others.

Felicia is eager, committed and determined to bring about change within surrounding communities. She is proud to take on the task and responsibilities as the newest member of the Community Advisory Board for the PHMC Public Health Campus on Cedar. She believes in giving back to the community and being a voice for many generations.

With a background as a chief executive officer, motivational speaker, event planner and administrator, Felicia has worked with diverse groups in corporate and community outreach spaces. Her empathetic nature, strong interpersonal communication skills and innovative problem-solving abilities have made her an asset to Catalyst for Change Church and various PHMC programs and subsidiaries, including ChildLink, Health Promotion Council and Turning Points for Children. In addition to the Cedar Campus Community Advisory Board, she is a board member of many community organizations.

Felicia is a wife, mother, grandmother and foster parent. She has helped youth and adults with referral services for mental health and crisis issues, for which she has been recognized by the North Central Philadelphia Community Development Center.

Elaine Wells is a community activist and quality education advocate whose work focuses on West and Southwest Philadelphia. Her 37-year career as an employee of the federal government included serving as Chief of the Quality Assurance & Training Division at The Department of Veteran Affairs’ Insurance Service. Additionally, Elaine is a former executive director of Community Solutions CDC and a Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Education Center Foundation consultant.

As an activist, she is the founder of Global Thinking Initiatives, Inc. Its mission is to provide under-supported communities through education, opportunity, and empowerment. The nonprofit organization's free to low-cost programming includes environmental justice projects, neighborhood cleaning and greening resources, household services, training, mentoring, and non-violence work.

Elaine has collaborated with the West Philadelphia Reading Captains, University of Pennsylvania’s Urban Health Lab’s Deeply Rooted collaborative, and Global Citizen. Additionally, she is the Executive Director of Tiny Trekkers PHK, which strives to foster a love and respect for nature in young children. Elaines is also a member of The International League of Muslim Women and serves on the Board of Directors for The Boys’ Latin of Philadelphia Charter Schools and Neighborhood Advisory Subcommittee for Achieve-ability. She co-hosts the nationally broadcast parent advocacy podcast Three Woke Aunties.