A special meeting of the Shasta County Board of Supervisors has been called for Friday to discuss whether the board should oppose bringing a full service behavioral health facility to Shasta County. Arch Collaborative is taking the lead on the effort and making a push for state funding to establish the campus-style facility to be run by “Signature Healthcare”, a national company. The idea is to keep people undergoing behavioral health crises from being forced into emergency rooms and jail cells by instead sending them to inpatient care delivered by qualified professionals. Pressure on emergency rooms and jails is expected to greatly increase at the start of next year when SB-43 kicks in, expanding the definition of “gravely disabled” to include many more mentally ill or drug addicted patients. County HHSA Director Christy Coleman does not support the project because she says a letter of support would commit her department to 30 years of support services for the facility. Although Signature Healthcare claims to specialize in high-acuity behavioral health and operates 19 facilities in 5 states, including 9 in California, Coleman refutes the assertion that they can serve the high acuity patients of Shasta County. Friday’s special meeting begins at 9AM.
-Steve Gibson