Welcome to the February edition of Aging and Still Engaging, provided by the SLO County Commission on Aging (SLOCOA). This month’s column is written by Judy Vick, LMFT, the Manager of SLO County Behavioral Health’s Adult Mental Health Services Division – part of the County Health Agency – and offers an overview of the continuum of care within Medi-Cal Specialty Mental Health Services, including psychiatric emergency services for all County residents.
There are three regional Adult Mental Health Clinics in the county that provide voluntary outpatient mental health services such as assessment, psychiatric medication services, rehabilitation services, individual and group psychotherapy and case management. The clinics are located in the following areas of the County: 5575 Hospital Drive in Atascadero, 2178 Johnson in San Luis Obispo and 1350 West Grand Avenue in Arroyo Grande. Each clinic currently serves approximately 500 individuals. To access Adult Medi-Cal Specialty Mental Health Services, contact the County’s Behavioral Health Managed Care line 24/7 at (800) 838-1381.
Additionally, the county contracts with Transitions Mental Health Association (TMHA) to provide three regional Wellness Centers that offer person-centered, recovery based support focusing on life enrichment, personal development, peer connection, mental health education, social skill development, and linkage to community resources. For more information about the Wellness Centers, please call (805) 464-0512 in North County, (805) 541-6813 in SLO, and (805) 489-9659 in South County.
Full Service Partnership (FSP) services are 24/7 intensive community-based wrap around services to help people in recovery live independently. TMHA, https://www.t-mha.org provides FSP services to individuals age 18–65, as well as homeless outreach services and court ordered intensive programs. Wilshire Health and Community Service, https://www.wilshirehcs.org, provide Older Adult FSP services for individuals 65 and older. Both TMHA and Wilshire provide a variety of other important supports and services which are detailed on their websites: SLO Hotline is a confidential mental health support, crisis and suicide prevention telephone line available 24/7: (800) 783-0607
For individuals in psychiatric crisis, the Mental Health Evaluation Team (MHET) is a mobile service that assists hospitals, clinics, law enforcement, schools, doctors, therapists and others to evaluate individuals who may need evaluation and treatment for psychiatric crises. MHET can be contacted by calling the Managed Care line at Behavioral Health (800) 831-1381.
The County Behavioral Health Department’s Psychiatric Health Facility (PHF), located in San Luis Obispo, is the only inpatient psychiatric treatment facility in SLO County, and is licensed for 16 beds. Individuals admitted to the facility are most often treated from 3 to 4 days. Many County residents are transferred to out of County psychiatric treatment facilities to meet the demand for inpatient psychiatric treatment. The PHF also treats approximately 70 individuals who have been placed on conservatorship and placed out of County, but who need to return to SLO for treatment or legal proceedings. The PHF also treats County Jail inmates who have misdemeanor charges and need to be restored to competency to participate in legal proceedings.
The Behavioral Health Department has received a California Health Facility Financing Agency (CHFFA) grant to construct a four bed, 23 hour Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU), which will provide a safe place for individuals who may need up to 23 hours to stabilize in order to return to the community safely. The CSU is expected to be operational in the fall of 2018.
San Luis Obispo County Commission on Aging invites the public to join them at the Veteran’s Hall on Grand Ave. in San Luis Obispo on Friday, February 17, from 10: a.m. – Noon. The topic that day will be “How to Choose an Affordable and Licensed Assisted Living Facility.” For more information about the Commission on Aging, visit www.slocounty.ca.gov/coa.htm, or call 235-5779.
