Today is World Mental Health Day. A new report by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council shows that people in rural counties have the highest rate of hospitalizations due to mental illness in the state. The findings suggest that it may be because of a lack of available mental health care providers, leading to people not seeking treatment until their decline reaches a crisis point.
The state’s overall rate of mental health hospitalizations is 88.8 per 100,000 residents.
Indiana County’s rate is slightly better, at 87.3, but neighboring Jefferson County has the second-highest rate in the state: 137.5. That trails only Carbon County’s rate of 147.3. All of Indiana County’s other neighbors also are over the state’s rate. Clearfield County’s rate is 130.8; Cambria’s is 113.1; Armstrong County’s rate is 97.6; and Westmoreland’s is 94.2.
738 Indiana County residents were hospitalized for mental health issues in 2018.
Across Pennsylvania, the most likely residents to be hospitalized for mental illness – 50.8 percent – were between the ages of 18 and 44. 27.2 percent were between 45 and 64. 14.8 percent were under the age of 18.
