SHORT-TERM EFFICACY OF INTERVENTIONS BY A YOUTH CRISIS TEAM

Objective: To determine the impact of an outpatient psychiatric Emerge ncy Room Follow-up Team (ERFUT) on the hospitalization rate of youth i n crisis (mostly suicidal adolescents). Method: The pare of psychiatri c admissions of youth to a general pediatric hospital during a year pr ior to the ERFUT creation was compared to that same rate after the tea m's creation The proportion of patients returning to the Emergency Roo m (ER) 2 or more times was also compared for those same years. Deaths were identified at 3-year follow-up for the experimental group. Result s: A 16% reduction in the hospitalization rate followed the team's cre ation, without an increase in the proportion of patients returning to the ER Also, none of the experimental group subjects had died at 3-yea r follow-up. Conclusion: There is a subpopulation of previously hospit alized suicidal adolescents who can be effectively cared for as outpat ients when treated rapidly and intensively.