Throughout all of San Diego County, especially North County, mental health support centers and psychiatric beds are disappearing, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without access to mental health and behavioral care. In fact, according to numbers given in a recent Board of Supervisors meeting in San Diego, North County is going to be left without any close access to this care by 2020, as Palomar Medical Center is expected to close all of their psychiatric beds. It’s chilling think that there will eventually be no local medical centers to turn to for people struggling with their mental health.
In response to the issue, multiple county supervisors, including Jim Desmond and Kristin Gaspar, are proposing ideas to revitalize mental health support throughout the county. Supervisor Desmond proposed using $14 million in county reserves to support Tri-City Medical Center and open 16 inpatient psychiatric beds and 12 short-term crisis beds in Oceanside. Supervisor Gaspar has been meeting with officials of Tri-City behind closed doors and has been working towards creating a reliable and suitable mental health support system throughout the county.
However, many members of the Board reacted against these proposals, which would continue the trend of ignoring the mental health crisis. Desmond even resorted to cutting back on the $14 million ahead of the vote, highlighting the need for productive negotiations about bringing psychiatric care to San Diegans who desperately need it.
Tri-City delivered a statement with concern over the Board’s lack of positive remarks to the proposed ideas, saying “It is unfortunate that the facts of the situation, which Tri-City has been clear about since day one, continue to be misunderstood or mischaracterized by some. Tri-City remains committed to long-term sustainable community solutions.”
Republicans on the Board of Supervisors and abroad continue to work towards this goal, in hopes of providing this specialized type of care to people who need it. Anxiety and depression are real problems that continue to plague the entire nation, so limiting available care in these areas is detrimental.
Luckily, there was a unanimous vote to continue negotiations about the issue, giving hope to Supervisors Desmond and Gaspar that progress can be made for the sake of all San Diegans.
Photo by Daan Stevens
