Length of Stay and Readmission Data for Adolescents Psychiatrically Treated on a Youth Crisis Stabilization Unit versus a Traditional Inpatient Unit

Abstract

Alternatives to inpatient psychiatric care for adolescents are needed given the growing need for yet limited access to inpatient psychiatric unit beds. We developed and tested an alternative model, the youth crisis stabilization unit, which provides intensive cognitive-behavioral, family-centered treatment to youth and their parents/guardians in a nonmilieu setting. Charts of 118 adolescents (12 to 18 years) eligible for both and admitted to either the youth crisis stabilization unit (n = 73) or inpatient psychiatric unit (n = 45) within the same pediatric hospital between January 2017 and June 2017 were reviewed retrospectively. Length of stay, readmission rates, and time to readmission were compared for adolescents admitted primarily due to suicidal ideation and/or attempt. No significant differences were found across units on demographic or clinical characteristics. Length of stay was significantly shorter on the youth crisis stabilization unit (M = 4.52, SD = 1.37) compared with the IPU (M = 10.31, SD = 9.03, p < .001). Readmission rates (p = .619) and time to readmission (p = .596) did not differ. The youth crisis stabilization unit treatment model merits further study as an alternative to traditional inpatient care.