Study sheds new light on Twin Cities’ mental health care crisis

Hospitals, state and metro counties collaborate on 3-month study

The three-month study, conducted last fall, found that among the 40 to 50 patients per month who use emergency room services because they lack access to less intensive resources:

Furthermore, patients admitted to inpatient psychiatric units would spend less time in the hospital if adequate intermediate options, such as intensive residential treatment beds, were available. As many 240 to 250 patients per month have "non-acute" days in the hospital. This adds up 2,000 to 2,100 "non-acute" days in the hospital per month.

Dianne Burd, Manager of Social Work Services, commented that, historically, what has been emphasized is the perceived shortage of psychiatric beds in the community. "We can now see that in order to break up the logjam of patients, we also have to look at what specific community resources are needed to compassionately and cost-effectively treat these patients. If we can focus energy on fast tracking some creative approaches to this challenge, we can bring a whole new level of service to the patients."

Data collected from the Anoka Metro Regional Treatment Center (a partner in the study) show that 88 patients per month have "non-acute" days. This adds up to an average of more than 1,700 "non-acute" days per month. The study shows that more than one-half of these patients could be appropriately cared for is adequate services were available to providing both medical and behavioral health nursing or corporate foster care.

Based on the research, the hospitals estimate that potentially up to 2,733 more patients per year in metro community hospitals and 344 patients per year in the Anoka Metro Regional Treatment Center could be treated if adequate resources were devoted to intermediate care services in the community.

The results of the study identify the need to create a work group with representatives from hospitals, state agencies, substance abuse services, intensive residential treatment services, nursing homes, and supported housing to develop practical recommendations of how to fill the gaps.

HealthEast, HealthPartners and Allina note several proposals currently moving through the legislature that can help address these issues and are urging lawmakers to adequately fund these measures, including community treatment alternatives, housing and crisis care.

About the study
The Twin Cities Psychiatric Patient Flow study was recommended by community leaders at the Roundtable Discussion on Behavioral Health held last spring. The study includes all Twin Cities hospitals that have both inpatient and emergency psychiatric departments and Anoka County Regional Treatment Center, which provides longer-term inpatient psychiatric care. Leaders from the Minnesota Department of Human Services and all seven metro county social services also contributed.

Organizations participating in the study included: