Chapter 6 presents data on the reason for discharge and median length of stay (LOS) in treatment for the 4,032 discharges aged 12 and older from hospital residential treatment in 2009. Eighteen of the 45 reporting States and jurisdictions had discharges from this type of service [Table 6.1].

Reason for Discharge

Table 6.1 and Figure 6.1. Of the 4,032 discharges aged 12 and older from hospital residential treatment in 2009¹:

• 59 percent (n = 2,392) completed treatment
• 22 percent (n = 905) were transferred to further treatment
• 11 percent (n = 450) dropped out of treatment
• 2 percent (n = 80) had treatment terminated by the facility
• 5 percent (n = 205) failed to complete treatment for other reasons
  

¹ Percentages do not sum to 100 percent because of rounding.

Median Length of Stay (LOS)

Table 1.4 and Figure 6.2. The median LOS in 2009 for hospital residential treatment discharges aged 12 and older was 13 days. By reason for discharge, the median LOS for hospital residential treatment discharges was:

• 19 days among those who completed treatment
• 8 days among those who transferred to further treatment
• 9 days among those who dropped out of treatment
• 14 days among those whose treatment was terminated by the facility
• 6 days among those who failed to complete treatment for other reasons
  

Characteristics at Admission

Table 1.6. Hospital residential discharges aged 12 and older displayed some major differences from all discharges aged 12 and older combined. Of hospital residential discharges aged 12 and older:

• 78 percent were non-Hispanic White compared to 59 percent of all discharges; 12 percent were non-Hispanic Black compared to 20 percent of all discharges; 5 percent were of Hispanic origin compared to 14 percent of all discharges
• 57 percent reported alcohol as their primary substance compared to 42 percent of all discharges; 7 percent reported marijuana compared to 17 percent of all discharges
• 66 percent reported daily use of the primary substance in the month before treatment entry compared to 38 percent of all discharges; 8 percent reported no substance use in the month before treatment entry compared to 29 percent of all discharges
• 66 percent reported one or more prior treatment episodes compared to 58 percent of all discharges
• 34 percent were referred to treatment by a health care or community provider compared to 29 percent of all discharges; 47 percent were self- or individual referrals to treatment compared to 33 percent of all discharges; 19 percent were referred to treatment through the criminal justice system compared to 38 percent of all discharges
• 82 percent were unemployed or not in the labor force compared to 76 percent of all discharges
• 25 percent had fewer than 12 years of education compared to 32 percent of all discharges
  
  

Treatment Completion

Tables 6.2 and 6.3. Table 6.2 enumerates the characteristics at admission of discharges aged 12 and over from hospital residential treatment by reason for discharge. Table 6.3 is based on Table 6.2. It presents two related proportions: a) the percent distribution of characteristics at admission among discharges completing treatment or transferring to further treatment compared to those who did not complete treatment, and b) the combined rate of completion or transfer to further treatment by characteristic at admission. Table 6.3 also provides the median LOS among hospital residential treatment discharges aged 12 and over that completed treatment.

Completion/Transfer Rates and Characteristics at Admission

The overall combined treatment completion/transfer rate among hospital residential treatment discharges aged 12 and over was 82 percent.

• Among variables whose categories represented a continuum—age, frequency of use, number of prior treatment episodes, and level of education—higher completion/transfer rates among hospital residential treatment discharges were associated with these three:
  
  • Older age—the completion/transfer rate fell from 86 percent among discharges 50 years and older to 75 percent among discharges aged 12 to 20 years
  • More frequent use—the completion/transfer rate fell from 82 percent among discharges who reported daily substance use in the month before treatment entry to 76 percent among those who reported no substance use
  • Years of education—the completion/transfer rate increased from 79 percent of discharges with less than 12 years of education to 85 percent of discharges with more than 12 years of education
    
• Among other characteristics (race/ethnicity, primary substance, treatment referral source,
  employment status), the completion/transfer rate among hospital residential treatment discharges aged 12 and over ranged from:
  
  • 81 percent among discharges of race/ethnicities other than Hispanic, White, or Black to 84 percent among discharges of Hispanic origin
  • 68 percent among discharges who reported stimulants as the primary substance to 84 percent among those who reported alcohol or cocaine and 87 percent who reported other/unknown
  • 78 percent of discharges who were referred to treatment by a health care or community provider to 86 percent of discharges who were referred to treatment through the criminal justice system
  • 82 percent among discharges who were unemployed or not in the labor force to 86 percent among those who were employed
    

Median LOS among Discharges Completing Treatment

The overall median LOS in 2009 among discharges aged 12 and older completing hospital residential treatment was 19 days.

• The median LOS was longest (32 days) among discharges who reported cocaine as their primary substance
• The median LOS was shortest among discharges who were employed (10 days)
  

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