Virginia’s State Psychiatric Hospitals At Capacity

Bed capacity at seven of Virginia’s nine state psychiatric hospitals regularly exceeds 95% and three of them are at 100%. Industry standards say optimal capacity is 85%. The hospitals are operated by the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS). About 47% of state hospital admissions during fiscal year 2023 were for forensic evaluations or restoration of competency. At the same time, 31 of the state’s 43 private psychiatric hospitals for adults were at 85% of their staffed bed capacity in 2022 and many of the hospitals operated at even lower capacity.

After reviewing the situation . . .