Old and new: a comparison of state psychiatric hospitals

The study examined whether state hospitals in operation before deinstitutionalization still carry vestiges of older models of psychiatric care. Using a national database, the authors compared 166 state hospitals built before 1949 with 80 state hospitals built after that time. The old hospitals treated fewer children and adolescents, received more state funding and less third-party funding, had fewer professional clinical staff, spent less on salaries and maintenance, and had more beds, a lower turnover rate, and a longer average length of stay. Findings suggest that planners and policymakers should take into account a facility's history when attempting to introduce innovations.