Psychiatric beds at large for-profit chains increase as those at public hospitals dwindle

Inpatient psychiatric care has dramatically shifted to large for-profit chains, according to new research from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The researchers found that the total number of inpatient psychiatric beds barely changed from 2011 to 2023. But behind the stable headline figure lies a dramatic shift: a decline in beds at general hospitals offset by a rise in beds at standalone psychiatric facilities—particularly those owned by large for-profit chains.

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