Median Pediatric Mental Health Boarding Stay Up 33% To Four Days

The median length of mental health boarding encounters for children in 2023 lasted four days, up from three days in 2017, according to data from children’s hospitals. Boarding stays can take place in an emergency department or an inpatient medical unit while waiting for an inpatient psychiatric placement. Across the 2017 to 2023 period, of the total 100,784 boarding stays, the length of stay ranged from two days to 589 days. A stay of nine or more days was considered a prolonged boarding stay. Less than 1% of children had a boarding stay lasting more than 100 days . . .