The day hospital as entry point to a network of long-term services: a program evaluation.

One hundred twenty-six admissions to a time-limited day hospital program were studied to obtain evaluative and descriptive information about the program and its patients. Patients most likely to complete the program were older, lived with their families, had intermediate amounts of prior inpatient admissions, and had no arrest record. Among all study patients admitted to the day hospital (dropouts as well as graduates), 62 percent were still participating in at least one long-term treatment and rehabilitation program of the parent community mental health service six months after they left the day hospital. This high retention rate appears to result from the day hospital's focus as the entry point to a large and flexible network of long-term services in the same location and with familiar staff.