A Survey of State Hospital Admissions From an Area Served by a Mental Health Center

The authors made a survey of all admissions to Topeka (Kans.) State Hospital from a three-county catchment area over an 11-year period during which a private psychiatric clinic in the area assumed the functions of a comprehensive community mental health center. The center's activities brought a significant decrease in the number of direct admissions to the hospital from the catchment area. However, the center consistently referred more patients with psychotic disorders to the state hospital than would be expected on the basis of over-all state hospital admissions. Similarly, a high proportion of patients with organic brain syndromes were admitted directly to the hospital from the three-county area. The authors say the findings suggest that the public mental hospital still has an important role to play in the delivery of mental health services.