The Big Lots Behavioral Health Pavilion at Nationwide Children’s Hospital will help the 1 in 5 children dealing with mental illness reach their full potential.

When completed, the Big Lots Behavioral Health Pavilion will be the largest behavioral health treatment and research center in the United States that’s just for kids and teenagers.
The project broke ground just last week and when completed the building will stand 9-stories-tall and be roughly 386,000 sq. ft. The Behavioral Health Pavilion is expected to be done in the year 2020.
“The Pavilion is not just another building on our campus. Following the latest evidence-based treatment philosophies, the building provides patients with access to open community spaces instead of keeping them isolated,” said David Axelson, MD, chief of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at Nationwide Children’s and medical director of Big Lots Behavioral Health Services in a press release.
“Patient safety is a priority, and the Pavilion has been designed for the unique needs of behavioral health patients,” said Axelson.

One of the coolest things about this new building will be the multifunctional rooftop play area. Natural light and physical activity are a key part of maintaining mental well-being. This space will be a very important part of the therapy and treatment of patients at the Behavioral Health Pavilion.
“Families need our help. We need to break the stigma and let everyone know it’s okay to talk about it and seek help,” said David Campisi, Big Lots Chief Executive Officer and President, and Nationwide Children’s board member in a press release. “The Pavilion will be at the center of this national conversation.”

The pavilion will have 48 inpatient beds, with room to add more in the future, in three different units. These units will be the Adolescent Inpatient Unit, the Child Inpatient Unit, and the Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities Unit. The Youth Crisis Stabilization Unit will have 16 beds while the Psychiatric Crisis Center will have 10 beds.
The five outpatient programs include:
- Outpatient Crisis Clinic
- Mood and Anxiety
- Family Based Intensive Treatment
- General Psychiatry
- Partial Hospitalization Program
The Center for Suicide Prevention and Research will also call the pavilion home.
With all this space and the phenomenal resources of Nationwide Children’s Hospital, there’s no doubt that the Big Lots Behavioral Health Pavilion will help hundreds of thousands of kids dealing with mental illness and behavioral health issues.

This project is part of the hospital’s $730 investment program that was announced in 2016. Big Lots and the Big Lots Foundation have donated $50 million to the hospital to make this the Behavioral Health Pavilion a reality.
“I am incredibly proud of our Board’s commitment to addressing the needs of children,” said Steve Allen, MD, CEO of Nationwide Children’s. “The new pavilion is a key component to our ambitious plan to substantially improve access to high-quality behavioral health services.”
You’ve got to check out what the Big Lots Behavioral Health Pavilion is going to look like when it’s completed. Watch the video to get more info and a better look at this awesome new building on the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Campus.
Now, I know not everyone has time to watch a video, so you can scroll through these pictures, too!











