HASC represented a community-based coalition at the Dec. 9 Orange County Board of Supervisors meeting, calling on the Board to adopt as a Strategic Financial (Budget) Priority system improvements that would lead to expedited care for patients in psychiatric crisis.

The coalition supports the conversion of a county crisis stabilization unit to the Psychiatric Emergency Services (PES) model of care, which has been proven in neighboring counties and across the state to expedite treatment for patients and avert involuntary inpatient hospitalizations. The coalition is also supporting a collaborative effort to establish a second PES in the county to meet patient demand and provide geographic access.

While the Board did not formally adopt a Strategic Financial Priority for this purpose, county staff as well as members of the Board sent strong signals of support for improving the county’s care delivery system for these patients.

The community-based coalition includes emergency room physicians, psychiatrists, law enforcement, patient rights groups, and representatives from the ambulance community. At the beginning of the year, the coalition will build on work conducted to date to develop a specific action plan for system improvements. The action plan will be presented to the Board of Supervisors in early April 2015.

Contact: Julie Puentes

(714) 663-0294, jpuentes@hasc.org

Julie Puentes was recognized recently at a CalOptima board meeting for her work in establishing a recuperative care program in Orange County and also by OC Health Disaster/EMS for her contributions to Orange County’s emergency medical response system.