In July of 1990, the State Office of Mental Health (OMH) issued Geriatric
Admission Guidelines which were intended to be used by State operated
psychiatric centers. The stated purpose of the guidelines was to assure
that elderly individuals admitted to these State operated centers were
seriously mentally ill and in need of psychiatric treatment, had been
adequately prescreened to assure their appropriateness for inpatient
psychiatric treatment, were medically stable and had been carefully
considered for other appropriate treatment alternatives before placement in
a State psychiatric center was made. The guidelines also represented a
further attempt by OMH to prevent the admission to State operated
psychiatric facilities of persons with a primary diagnosis of dementia and
no co-existing mental illness, since these individuals are not considered
seriously mentally ill.
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