Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 48 - PUBLIC HEALTH-GENERAL › Part I - General Administration › Subpart 5 - Health Planning › Chapter 115 - Health Resource requirements › Subchapter B - Facility or Service-Specific Criteria and Standards › Section I-11507 - Psychiatric Beds

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
A. Description
1. Psychiatric beds are located in general
					 hospitals, psychiatric specialty hospitals, or other medical centers which are
					 set up to provide inpatient medical care to persons with mental illness or
					 disorders.
2. Chemical dependency
					 services may be provided in psychiatric hospitals or in psychiatric units of
					 general hospitals. Refer to the subsequent section of this Chapter for a
					 discussion of Chemical Dependency Services.
3. Admissions to general hospitals for
					 psychiatric reasons are usually for emergencies and acute psychiatric episodes;
					 the patient's length of stay does not ordinarily exceed several weeks.
					 Treatment of chronic and severe mental disorders is usually undertaken at
					 psychiatric specialty hospitals, where the average length of stay may be much
					 longer.
4. The role of inpatient
					 psychiatric facilities is one of increasing importance as more becomes known
					 about effective treatment methods. The availability of short-term beds in
					 community-based facilities is essential for treatment of emergency and acute
					 conditions. Therapeutic intervention at an early stage in mental health
					 deterioration is vital for early recovery. Although it is important to have
					 sufficient beds for the long-term care and treatment of the chronically
					 mentally ill, active treatment and rehabilitation programs are needed to assure
					 that patients do not remain institutionalized longer than necessary. Large
					 patient-to-staff ratios have often been a problem in state-operated psychiatric
					 hospitals and have created an impediment to goals aimed at reducing lengths of
					 stay.
5. In any facility providing
					 more than emergency care for persons with psychiatric disorders, small,
					 discrete treatment units for special segments of the population are needed for
					 the most effective therapy. Preschool and latency age, early and late
					 adolescence, severe handicap and emotional disturbance are some of the
					 variables which indicate a need for specialized treatment in separate
					 units.
6. High quality, appropriate
					 services are essential components of all inpatient mental health care if timely
					 and successful recovery is to occur. The patient's length of stay should be as
					 short as is therapeutically possible, for the humane aspect of brief and
					 successful treatment, and for cost effectiveness. The cost of inpatient
					 psychiatric care ranges from $80 a day at large state mental hospitals to $300
					 a day in private facilities. Outpatient care usually ranges from $50 to $180
					 per week.
7. Treatment techniques
					 which have been successful in the rehabilitation of persons with mental illness
					 include various types of therapeutic intervention by trained mental health
					 professionals (psychiatrists, psychologist, social workers, psychiatric nurses
					 and others); recreational, occupational and vocational therapy; group, family
					 and individual therapy; and administration of psychotherapeutic drugs.
					 Outpatient or ambulatory care is preferable to inpatient care when the
					 patient's condition is stable enough to permit functioning in the community
					 without endangering the patient, the community, or the course of
					 recovery.