Maryland’s five adult psychiatric hospitals are operating at an average capacity of 95%, creating monthslong wait times for some court-ordered patients, The Daily Record reported May 26.
The psychiatric hospitals “primarily serve individuals with mental illnesses who are involved in the criminal justice system and are deemed dangerous,” according to the report.
Here are five things to know:
- Court-ordered patients awaiting admission to Jessup, Md.-based Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center for competency restoration and treatment can wait as long as nine or 10 months, Amanda Hils, a spokesperson for the Maryland Department of Health, said in the report.
- Patients awaiting placement at the state’s four minimum-security psychiatric hospitals typically face waits of two to four months. Ms. Hills said the majority of admissions ordered to the psychiatric hospitals are held in detention centers until a bed becomes available.
- State law requires the MDH to transfer individuals deemed incompetent to stand trial into an appropriate state hospital within 10 business days, according to Nick Cavey, a spokesperson for the Maryland Judiciary.
- Behavioral health leaders said Maryland needs to strengthen Medicaid reimbursement rates for in-home services. Approximately 1,800 individuals could benefit from Medicaid intensive in-home services, with only 34 currently using them, Shannon Hall, executive director of the Community Behavioral Health Association of Maryland, said.
- MDH plans to add 25 beds at Sykesville-based Springfield Hospital Center and 68 beds at Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center. The department is also partnering with the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development to open 25 beds and fund an additional 50 beds through the Capitation Project in Baltimore City.
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