Gov. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), left, and Lisa Dailey, executive director, Treatment Advocacy Center | IN.gov / LinkedIn
Gov. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), left, and Lisa Dailey, executive director, Treatment Advocacy Center | IN.gov / LinkedIn
Indiana ranked 18th among 50 states plus the District of Columbia for the number of psychiatric beds per 100,000 people.
That’s according to an analysis of psychiatric beds in the Hoosier State conducted by Treatment Advocacy Center (TAC).
The TAC report found that, “in the first half of 2023, Indiana had 815 state hospital beds for adults,” reported the TAC. “This puts Indiana at 11.9 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.
The TAC report also said Indiana has 180,889 individuals with severe mental illness, but only 41.5% receive treatment.
The ACLU sued Indiana in 2022 over the "grossly insufficient" number of mental health beds, leaving some defendants in jail without necessary treatment.
The lack of psychiatric beds in Indiana cost the state $4.2 billion in economic losses in 2019, according to a JAMA Network study.
In Marion County alone, almost 26,000 adults needed but did not receive treatment for serious mental illness, according to a 2023 Indiana University study.
Where does Indiana rank in psychiatric beds per 100,000 people?
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