28 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY APRIL 6-12, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com ogy to help psychiatric patients. “We’re trying to have a more sophisticated approach in the emergency room,” Singh says. Around five years ago the hospital incorporated telehealth into the ER, allowing patients to receive 30- to 45-minute sessions with a psychiatrist using a mobile monitor at their bedsides. The ER team receives a detailed three- to four-page report from the psychiatrist with an assessment of issues. “Nothing beats having someone there, but overall patients feel grateful they can talk to a professional that gives them individualized attention,” Singh says. With many patients landing in the ER having not been able to access outpatient services leading up to the crisis—be it lack of resources or access due to an overall lack of mental health professionals in the county—it’s their first opportunity to be listened to by a professional. “Patients appreciate finally being able to talk to someone, even if it’s telehealth,” Singh says. There is a legislative push in Sacramento to create more psychiatric beds in California, or at least do a better job of keeping track of what’s available. Senate Bill 45, introduced on March 9 by State Sen. Richard Roth, D-Riverside, would establish the California Acute Care Psychiatric Loan Fund to make loans to participating health institutions for the refinancing, acquisition, construction or remodeling of facilities. Senate Bill 363, sponsored by Sen. Susan Talamantes Eggman, D-Stockton, would require the creation by 2025 of a real-time, online database to collect, organize and display information about beds by their specific use, ranging from substance abuse rehabilitation facilities to acute psychiatric hospitals. Assembly Bill 1001, introduced Feb. 15 by Matt Haney, D-San Francisco, would require hospitals to assemble psychiatric response teams with at least two registered nurses with experience in psychiatric care, a doctor or other staff member licensed in psychiatric care and someone who is either a social worker or clinical psychologist. It would also require the California Department of Public Health to establish requirements for how these teams would respond to psychiatric emergencies. On March 19, Newsom announced a bond measure for the 2024 ballot designed to raise at least $3 billion to fund the construction of new mental health facilities, residential care locations and housing with permanent services attached. He estimated 10,000 people per year could be helped by the new and expanded facilities. Bond money would also go toward housing for homeless veterans. “This is the next step in our transformation of how California addresses mental illness, substance use disorders, and homelessness—creating thousands of new beds, building more housing, expanding services, and more,” Newsom said in a press release. “People who are struggling with these issues, especially those who are on the streets or in other vulnerable conditions, will have more resources to get the help they need.” Mental health advocates in the state say money for beds is not enough to address the problem. It’s one thing to add the physical beds, it’s another issue altogether to pay for the high costs associated with operating the beds, given the problem of facilities being unable to be adequately reimbursed for expenses. Newsom said he wanted to redirect $1 billion in funds from the already existing Mental Health Services Act, approved 20 years ago, which imposes an income tax on the richest Californians to cover operational costs. Even if legislation passes this year, or Newsom’s bond measure is successful next year, it would still be several years before money would flow toward adding and supporting more psychiatric beds. For now, the phone calls from local emergency rooms to facilities around the state will continue. “Every single emergency room is doing the same thing,” Singh says. “They are also calling around trying to get a bed.” “It’s not to blame the provider population or the hospitals— or anyone—it’s just that we have a crisis.”
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjAzNjQ1NQ==