Of Medicaid-enrolled youth who have mental health-related emergency department (ED) visits, 11.9% resulted in boarding in the ED. “ED boarding” is defined as the practice of holding consumers in the emergency department for three to seven days while awaiting an inpatient psychiatric bed. According to recent research, Variations In Psychiatric Emergency Department Boarding For Medicaid-Enrolled Youths and 11.9% Of Mental Health Emergency Visits For Medicaid-Enrolled Youth Resulted In ‘Boarding’ In 2022, for those youth boarded in the ED, the average stay was 4.5 days.

The youth experiencing ED boarding had a range of mental health conditions. Suicidal ideation, attempt, or intentional self-harm was the most common single category in boarded visits, at 44.4%.…