Utilization of an evening/night hospital: first two years of operation

This study examined the utilization of an integrated evening/night hospital by 234 psychiatric patients referred to the hospital during its first two years of operation. Neither age, sex, marital status, referral source or diagnosis were related to utilization. However, patients whose previous treatment involved traditional psychiatric care, either inpatient or outpatient, were less frequently admitted and less likely to complete the program once admitted, than were those patients reporting either day hospitalization or no treatment prior to their admission. There were steady increases in the number of referrals, number of different referring agents, average length of stay and average daily census as the program matured during the first two years of operation. While these data indicated an increase in the utilization of the evening portion of the program, there was a commensurate decrease in the utilization of the night portion of the program. As a result, the provision of overnight accommodation has been discontinued altogether.