PROVIDENCE – A new website is helping Rhode Islanders in need of inpatient mental health or substance use treatment search for help that is available right away.
The state’s ribhopenbeds.org website, launched last year by the R.I. Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals, allows patients, caregivers and health care providers to search for services, providers and open beds in inpatient facilities.
The site also shows how many patients are on waiting lists for beds and how many beds are currently filled.
Providers listed on the site are asked to keep information current, the department says.
“This represents a tremendous step forward, one that will help individuals and providers access essential services, and one that will help us gauge as a state how well we are meeting the demand for these services,” said BHDDH Director Kathryn Power. “The website is a powerful tool and we want advocates and the public to know it is there.”
Demand for mental health services and substance use treatment surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to state health officials.
Elizabeth Graham is a PBN contributing writer.
