COUNTY SEEKS TO REDUCE RELIANCE ON PSYCHIATRIC BEDS AS PRIMARY MENTAL HEALTH SOLUTION

Chair Nathan Fletcher and the San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved a series of updates and actions highlighted by the County’s Department of Behavioral Health Services to create a better way to deliver mental health and addiction treatment.

After today’s vote, Chair Fletcher said, “We have been on a journey since I entered office to reimagine the way we deliver behavioral health services and today's progress report shows we are on the right track. Our efforts are tackling the immediate care needs of the severely mentally ill using mobile crisis response teams, crisis stabilization units and other tools; but we are also introducing forward-looking solutions like our Optimal Care Pathways Model. We want to reduce reliance on psychiatric beds, and put more resources towards facilities that provide early interventions. I am pleased with our progress, but there remains significantly more work to do.    

To learn more about the new policy on reducing reliance on psychiatric beds visit this link; and to read the progress report on other programs visit this link.