Orange County hospitals, emergency room physicians and Orange County Behavioral Health have teamed up to discuss improvements that could be made in Orange County’s mental health delivery system, with the goal of preparing a collaboratively developed grant application in the SB 82 grant program authored by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and approved by the legislature this year.

The primary objective of the effort is to rapidly transition patients experiencing psychiatric emergencies into the most appropriate treatment setting, expanding capacity within the county as necessary to achieve this goal. The strong potential for public/private partnerships is a cornerstone of the discussion.

The grant proposals would seek to expedite care for all patients experiencing psychiatric emergencies, and bypass hospital emergency departments in favor of more appropriate care settings (mental health clinics, crisis stabilization units and psychiatric emergency services facilities) when possible, as well as reduce the need for involuntary patient treatment.

Contact: Julie Puentes
(714) 663-0294, jpuentes@hasc.org