The use of a mid-Manhattan hotel as a support system.

The mass media have focused recently on the failure of psychiatric institutions to provide adequate follow-up for its patients released into the inner city. Many expatients deteriorate and become part of the "revolving door": single-room occupancy--city hospitals--state hospital. This paper attempts to demonstrate the feasibility of utilizing existing community resources (for example, a large midtown Manhattan hotel and local service agencies) to cope with this problem. A description of the multiagency organized hotel programs as well as objective and subjective data is provided in order to substantiate our contention that this approach offers a viable alternative to long-term hospitalization.