The wait for "geripsych": Prolonged boarding of older adults awaiting inpatient psychiatry

Prolonged boarding of older adults with neuropsychiatric illness has become a common, yet underrecognized, feature of contemporary mental health care delivery. I highlight the ways boarding functions as a de facto stage of care that impacts the system and hospitalists tasked with caring for these patients. Boarding reflects structural vulnerabilities around psychiatric capacity, long‑term care, and community services. Boarding time should be treated as a reportable safety metric, paired with unit‑level prevention and escalation pathways to guide hospital leaders, hospitalists, and regional planners.