State Rep. Carmine Gentile (D-13th Middlesex) said Massachusetts should increase the number of psychiatric units in the state.
His comments come after Bay State News reported the Commonwealth ranked 29th among 50 states plus the District of Columbia for the number of psychiatric beds per 100,000 people.
“In Massachusetts we need to expand access to inpatient mental health care by increasing the number of beds in psychiatric units,” Gentile told Metro West Times. “The problem is most acute for children who can spend a week or more in a hospital emergency room awaiting one of the pediatric psych beds in the Commonwealth.”
“Both New Jersey and New York have substantially more psychiatric bed per capita than we do in Massachusetts,” said Gentile. “Perhaps we ought see how they have managed that and make needed changes here.”
A report released by the Treatment Advocacy Center (TAC) found that, “in 2023, Massachusetts had 9.5 psychiatric beds per 100,000 population.”
That number is well below the 40 to 60 beds per 100,000 that TAC said is the “recommended minimum” for states.
The TAC report said psychiatric bed availability has been consistently declining since the 1950s.
“In 1955, the country had 340 psychiatric beds per 100,000 people. By 2016, that number had fallen to 11.7 per 100,000, leaving many individuals with severe mental illness without adequate inpatient care options,” said the report.
Founded in 1998, the TAC is a nonprofit organization based in Arlington, Va., that focuses on mental health policy and research related to serious mental illness.
A report from the Massachusetts Health Policy Forum found that Massachusetts has 2,761 licensed psychiatric inpatient beds, serving approximately 74,000 psychiatric inpatient admissions per year. Despite these numbers, the state’s bed-to-population ratio remains insufficient to meet service demands.
Additionally, a report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) found that in 2019, Massachusetts had a state hospital utilization rate of 0.29 per 1,000 population—lower than the national average of 0.41 per 1,000. This suggests that even with a relatively high number of psychiatric beds compared to some other states, Massachusetts still faces challenges in meeting the inpatient mental health care needs of its residents.
The shortage of psychiatric beds contributes to long wait times for mental health treatment, increased reliance on emergency departments for psychiatric crises, and difficulties in ensuring timely care for individuals with severe mental illness.
Gentile has represented the 13th Middlesex District since January 2015. He earned degrees from Tufts University and Suffolk University Law School. In 1990, he established his own law firm in Framingham. Gentile has held roles such as Vice-Chair of the Sudbury Democratic Town Committee, Scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 63, and president of the Sudbury Rotary Club.
Where does Massachusetts rank in psychiatric beds per 100,000 people?
