Written by Mobina Riazi
A year ago, Tri-City faced an avalanche of criticism when it closed its inpatient behavioral health and crisis stabilization units. This raised the possibility that the North County region might be without any hospital beds for mental health patients come 2020.
This put a spotlight on regional facilities and the entire mental health medical system. Elected leaders and county bureaucrats rushed to find solutions.
County officials were alarmed last year when Tri-City announced that it planned to close its behavioral health units. The district had already announced that it had already lost funding for its psychiatric services, with one reportedly showing a $5.4 million cut in 2018. Meanwhile, psychiatric services needed upgrades to the former facilities that would cost millions more. When Tri-City closed its doors, patients, families and North County leaders scrambled to urge the district to replace those services.
Within months of the closure, the county’s Midway psychiatric hospital and Palomar Health’s North County hospitals saw an exponential rise in the number of behavioral health patients.
This forced North County police officers to relocate an estimated 5,000 patients, significantly interrupting their daily schedules and designated time with caretakers. These patients were considered gravely disabled or a danger to themselves and the shutdown caused them an excessive and unnecessary amount of “waiting” in emergency rooms.
County Supervisor Jim Desmond proposed pulling $14 million from the county’s reserves to help Tri-City re-open. The new deal with Tri-City approved by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors aims to address the issues of the county’s mental health system with an agreement that the county will cover half of the cost to build Tri-City’s new 16-bed facility. The agreement also encompasses alterations to Tri-City’s costs and incorporate financial incentives to encourage better care for patients.
Getting to the provisional deal with Tri-City wasn’t easy for officials. However, the region is looking to improve and create services that meet the needs of behavioral patients. Although the Tri-City shut down caused public criticism, it shed light on the issues within the system. Hopefully, this temporary shut down will bring permanent change to the psychiatric system.
