Admissions to the State Hospital: A One-Year Study (Report‪)‬

Introduction There are at present, two inpatient acute care mental health facilities operated by the West Virginia Dept of Health and Human Resources with a total of 240 beds to serve the mentally ill population of West Virginia. Each hospital has a designated catchment area with corresponding Community Mental Health Centers. William R. Sharpe, Jr. Hospital is a 150 bed facility located in Lewis County that serves 42 of West Virginia's 55 counties. Mildred Mitchell Bateman Hospital in Huntington has 90 beds and admits patients from 13 counties. All admissions to the hospital are involuntary, either through civil commitment or, in the case of forensic patients, through court order via the judicial system. Civilly committed patients are admitted along catchment area lines with few exceptions. Forensic patients from the entire state are initially admitted to the forensic program at Sharpe.