By Johndy Gums
With Santa Cruz County’s mental health department understaffed by 31%, county regulators have greenlit a new approach to hiring more peer support professionals to work on mobile crisis teams.
The shortage of qualified personnel is not just in Santa Cruz County, but across California and the United States.
This is why the county’s mobile emergency response team is only available on weekdays and not at night or on weekends.
However, 36% of calls between 8pm and 7am are mental health related.
Currently, due to a lack of qualified personnel, county emergency and stable facilities are often unable to accommodate people in crisis, so they are forced to work in hospital emergency departments, namely the Dominican Hospital (average of 29 people per month). Or they will be directed to Watsonville Community Hospital (average 9 people per month).
Called “Crisis Now,” this new approach aims to make mobile teams 24/7 by 2026.
Crisis Now is led by the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors and developed in partnership with the National Alliance for Suicide Prevention Action, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, the National Mental Health Council, and consultants RI International.
With a population of 274,255, Santa Cruz County is estimated to require 6,852 emergency services other than telephone or outpatient care, requiring 43 acute care beds. This is based on national guidelines that predict 200 people out of 100,000 will experience this severe crisis.
In 2021, crisis stabilization facilities aggregated 1,397 crisis chair uses, with a mean length of stay of 1.7 days and 67 adult readmissions.
Proponents of Crisis Now argue that not matching people to their care needs costs $2,264 per psychiatric patient and harms the health care system.
County Health Services Commissioner Monica Morales proposed Crisis Now to the county regulator, who approved it in June.
investigation
Planning began in February, with a community survey with 95 participants, a 25-person hearing session at City Hall on February 16, five focus groups with 98 participants, and a public hearing capped at April 20. A 30-day public comment period was held.
A top priority was the need to extend mobile emergency response time to 24/7, followed by the need to expand the number of acute care beds.
RI International (formerly Recovery Inc.) was hired as a consultant on site.
Crisis Now is expected to cost $5.16 million over the next three years. Funding comes from federal and state grants.
The budget includes $1.3 million for personnel costs.
Total costs include $450,000 for RI International and $300,000 for third-party evaluators.
arizona model
In Arizona, where crisis centers are open 24 hours a day, people in crisis can be quickly handed over to counselors by police officers within three minutes, allowing them to focus their attention on crime. The center is open to anyone, regardless of health insurance.
Currently not available in Santa Cruz County.
And it wasn’t until 2016 that two young men at stake, Sean Alt and Luke Smith, were murdered by law enforcement, Sean in Santa Cruz and Luke in unincorporated Watsonville. was murdered in
However, RI International will help develop a better system of mental health crisis response lines, agile crisis response, and short-term crisis care facilities.
Currently, people in a mental health crisis can call 911, which is answered by police and emergency medical services dispatchers, 24/7 988 for suicide prevention services, or the county’s toll-free number 1-800-952. You can call -2335.Our mobile team works weekdays from 8am to 5pm
To hire pierce specialists, county leaders plan to partner with nonprofit organizations in hiring and training. This may include 12-24 certified piercing specialists and emergency medical technicians.
With enough staff, dispatchers can send out mobile teams at any time, including nights and weekends.
Crisis Now is funded as an innovation project through the billionaire state tax on mental health services. Long-term funding has not yet been secured.
A Santa Cruz County grand jury surveyed the county’s Department of Behavioral Health and reported 31% staff vacancies, along with staff vacancies at Telecare, the nonprofit the county commissioned to run crisis stabilization facilities. See Apts Times on July 1st.
Once the renovations are complete, the county plans to open a youth crisis center at 5200 Sokel Drive, next to the sheriff’s office. The facility could be completed in 2024.
One problem with employment is that salaries are higher in neighboring counties such as Santa Clara and San Mateo in the heart of Silicon Valley. This leads people to drive “over the hill” to increase their income.
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