Patient Referal

Admissions to Spring Grove

General Admissions:

The Spring Grove Hospital Center Admission office is located in the entrance lobby of the Dayhoff Building. Referrals for admission are accepted 24-hours a day, seven days a week. Medical and Psychiatric prescreening by a physician in a local emergency room or community mental health center is required. Note: The Admissions Office at Spring Grove does not provide prescreening or emergency assessment services, but is available to accept referrals from the community and to process admissions at all times. If you should require assistance in this regard, you may contact the Admissions Office at 410.402.7398 at any time for assistance.

Once admission to Spring Grove has been recommended by a local emergency room or community mental health center, certification of medical necessity must be provided by Maryland Health Partners, an agency which has been designated by the State of Maryland to provide utilization review oversight services. Maryland Health Partners may be contacted 24-hours a day, 7 days a week, by calling 1.800.888.1965.

If you are a patient and think that you might require psychiatric hospitalization, you are encouraged to consult your psychiatrist or other mental health professional. In an emergency, you may also go directly to the nearest emergency room for evaluation.

With several exceptions, Spring Grove currently provides acute admissions services (i.e. direct admissions from the community) only to residents of Baltimore County and Harford County. In addition, Spring Grove accepts patients who are residents of certain sections of Baltimore City as transfers from other psychiatric hospitals after the patient has remained hospitalized in the other facility for at least 30-days. (Note: Acute admissions for Baltimore City should be referred to private hospitals or to the Walter P.Carter Center.) Spring Grove does accept direct admissions from all counties and Baltimore City into its Treatment Research and Residential Research Units. (See Below).

If you are a provider in a local emergency room or a community provider and, following a determination of medical necessity by Maryland Health Partners (1.800.888.1965) you would like to refer a patient to us, you should contact the Spring Grove Hospital Center Admissions Office 24-hours a day at 410.402.7398. (The hospital switchboard may be reached by calling 410.402.6000.)

Spring Grove reserves the right to refuse a referral for admission in the event that our physician has determined that the patient is not sufficiently stable medically or that the admission is otherwise inappropriate.

Both voluntary and involuntary admissions are accepted.

Forensic Admissions

Spring Grove accepts admission of individuals who are court ordered to the facility for evaluation as to competency to stand trial, criminal responsibility, dangerousness. In addition, patients may be court ordered to treatment for treatment pending a determination of competency to stand trial or following a finding that the individual is not criminally responsible. Under an agreement by the Mental Hygiene Administration, individuals who are committed for evaluation or for treatment by the District Court of Baltimore Country or Harford County should be referred to Spring Grove, regardless of where the individual resides. Individuals who are being committed for evaluation or treatment by the Circuit Court of Baltimore City should be referred for admission to Spring Grove only if the individual resides in Baltimore County or Harford County. Referrals and questions should be directed to the Spring Grove Admissions Office by calling 410.402.7398. In some instances, prescreening evaluations may be requested. Please note that Spring Grove, while secure, does not provide a maximum security setting.

Click here for additional information about the admissions office and admissions to Spring Grove.

Treatment Research Unit

Referrals to this specialized inpatient psychiatric research unit are accepted from across the State of Maryland. Click here to see details regarding the services offered and the referral procedures for admission to this unit.