Increased demand for emergency behavioral-health services contributed to Forsyth Medical Center's high ranking among private hospitals with long waits for patients who need a bed at a state psychiatric hospital, medical-center officials said yesterday.
The Wake County chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness released a breakdown Tuesday of wait times.
According to the report, Forsyth Medical ranked third in the state, with 83 people waiting at least 48 hours for admission to a state hospital during the first half of 2010. Forsyth officials say they weren't able to validate those numbers.
Jo Haubenreiser, the vice president for post-acute services at Forsyth, questioned the methodology used by the advocacy group, and she disputed the report that one person waited 23 days at the hospital.
It was more likely that the person remained on a waiting list for admission to a state hospital after being admitted to Forsyth, Haubenreiser said.
Gerry Akland, a board member of the group, said that the group stands by its report, which was based on data from the state's four public psychiatric hospitals. He said that the person kept at Forsyth for 23 days waited from 3:15 p.m. May 24 to 6:10 a.m. June 17.
The longer waits come at a time when more people who lack health insurance are turning to emergency rooms for primary care.
Haubenreiser said that Forsyth has 10 secured private beds in its emergency department and 43 beds in a locked inpatient unit for only behavioral-health cases.
In most instances, mental-health patients at Forsyth are given short-term medical and mental-health care -- lasting from a few hours to a few days -- or are stabilized for transfer to another facility, she said. The hospital does not serve violent and unstable patients who need longer-term care.
"Most people wait a day or less for admission," Haubenreiser said. "During the first half of the year, we served more than 270 people through our contract with CenterPoint Human Services and the state that otherwise would have gone to a state hospital."
The report also found that Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center had 37 cases of people waiting at least 48 hours to be admitted for treatment of mental-health issues. Old Vineyard Behavioral Health Services had 29 cases. Both facilities monitored one person for 23 days.
People having a behavioral-health issue tend to spend their wait in beds. Some are restrained if they are considered dangerous to themselves or others.
In many instances, the patient has been taken into custody through an involuntary commitment. In such cases, state law requires that a law-enforcement officer stay with the patient until it is determined that a doctor or eligible psychologist is available to do an examination.
rcraver@wsjournal.com
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