Washington below, Fayette, Greene above state rate in mental disorder admissions
Notice: Undefined variable: article_ad_placement3 in /usr/web/cs-washington.ogdennews.com/wp-content/themes/News_Core_2023_WashCluster/single.php on line 128
Pennsylvanians were admitted to hospitals for treatment of mental disorders 113,704 times in 2018, according to a report released this week. That’s an average of 312 admissions per day, with an average stay of 10.2 days.
Statewide, that breaks down to 88.8 admissions per 10,000 residents, Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council said in a report made public during Mental Illness Awareness Week. PHC4 also distilled its figures by county, and the rates were a mixed bag locally.
Washington (81.1) and Allegheny (85.7) counties were below the Keystone State rate, while Westmoreland (94.2), Greene (98.1) and Fayette (118.1) were above. Fayette’s figure was 11th highest among the 67 counties. Fulton (40.6) had the lowest rate in Pennsylvania, Carbon (147.3) the highest.
“Providing this information by county can help communities understand needs at the local level,” said Joe Martin, executive director of PHC4, an independent state agency that collects, analyzes and reports on the cost and quality of health care in the state.
Allegheny, with the largest population among the five local counties, had the largest number of hospitalizations – 10,448. Westmoreland (3,303) was second, followed by Washington (1,682), Fayette (1,541) and Greene (358).
The council found that more than half of the patients admitted for treatment of mental disorders last year – (57,738 or 50.8%) – were in the 18 to 44 age range. Patients 45 to 64 accounted for 27.2% (or 30,892), followed by those 17 and younger (14.8% or 16,779), patients 65 and older (7.3% or 8,295).
Depression, by far, was the most frequent reason for mental disorder admission (44.0%), according to PHC4. Schizophrenia (20.7%) was second, bipolar disorder third (20.2%).
Residents of high poverty areas, according to the study, were more than three times as likely to be admitted for treatment of mental disorders as those living in lower poverty areas. PHC4 reported that areas where more than 25% lived in poverty had a rate of 163.3 admissions per 10,000 residents, while the rate where the poverty level was 5% or less was 53.0.
PHC4 also said the rate of admissions for black residents (non-Hispanic) was 154.0; for white residents (non-Hispanic), 81.7; and for Hispanic residents, 67.9.