Norton Children’s Behavioral and Mental Health, affiliated with the UofL School of Medicine, provides individualized psychiatric care to meet the needs of each child. We provide children and families with tools and resources to promote success during and after inpatient treatment. Our care team is composed of:

• Physicians
• University of Louisville residents
• Certified psychiatric nurses
• Psychiatric nurses
• Licensed social workers
• Mental health associates
• Clinical nurse specialists
• Care managers
• Jefferson County Public Schools educators
• Administrative assistants
• Staff from the hospital’s nursing leadership team, pastoral care, and child life and expressive therapies

Behavioral and Mental Health That’s ‘Just for Kids’

Norton Children’s Hospital offers inpatient psychiatric care for children ages 2 to 17 through the Ackerly Child Psychiatric Unit. A key feature of the unit is access to a full range of medical care and psychiatric treatment within the safety of Norton Children’s Hospital.

We provide:

• Inpatient care
• Psychiatric emergency services
• Therapeutic services
• Comprehensive behavioral services

Learn more about our services

The Norton Children’s Difference

With a 125-year presence in Louisville, Norton Children’s is a leader in pediatric care across Kentucky and Southern Indiana, providing an expanded footprint that includes:

• Norton Children’s Hospital – The region’s only full-service, free-standing pediatric hospital and Louisville’s only Level I Pediatric Trauma Center. Norton Children’s Hospital also has one of the largest Level IV (highest level) neonatal intensive care units in the country.
• Numerous regional outpatient centers and extensive pediatrician and pediatric specialist offices throughout the area.
• Norton Women’s & Children’s Hospital – The only women’s hospital in Louisville, providing care dedicated to the needs of women and children.
• Norton Children’s Medical Center – A unique regional outpatient facility designed “Just for Kids,” bringing pediatric care to northeastern Jefferson County and the surrounding area.

Norton Children’s offers specialized programs and services, including:

• Norton Children’s Cancer Institute, affiliated with the UofL School of Medicine, and the Addison Jo Blair Cancer Care Center, which is one of the oldest oncology programs continuously accredited by the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer.
• Norton Children’s Heart Institute, affiliated with the UofL School of Medicine, a pioneer in pediatric cardiothoracic surgery. Norton Children’s heart surgeons performed Kentucky’s first heart transplant in a newborn in 1986, making the hospital the second site in the United States for infant transplants. Norton Children’s Hospital is home to the Jennifer Lawrence Cardiac Intensive Care Unit.
• Pediatric neurology and neurosurgery, including a Level 4 epilepsy center
• Orthopedic surgery and rehabilitation
• The Wendy Novak Diabetes Center