OLD AND NEW - A COMPARISON OF STATE PSYCHIATRIC-HOSPITALS

The study examined whether state hospitals in operation before deinsti tutionalization still carry vestiges of older models of psychiatric ca re, Using a national database, the authors compared 166 state hospital s built before 1949 with 80 state hospitals built after that time, The old hospitals treated fewer children and adolescents, received more s tate funding and less third-party funding, had fewer professional clin ical 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 faci lity's history when attempting to introduce innovations.