LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved a two-year pilot program to add 500 mental health beds countywide.
Supervisor Kathryn Barger recommended the pilot program, calling it “a critical first step of rapid expansion.”
An October report by the Department of Mental Health found that county psychiatric emergency rooms are severely overcrowded, with patients sometimes waiting days for a hospital bed.
One of the goals of the pilot program is to get people the care they need to keep them out of a jail system that has become one of the nation’s largest mental health institutions. Roughly one-quarter of homeless individuals countywide have a serious mental illness and cycle in and out of hospitals and jail without receiving care to put them on a path to recovery, according to the report.
More hospital beds will not be enough to resolve the problem, DMH Director Dr. Jonathan Sherin told the board. More “step-down” residential care beds and a network of cooperation will also be required.
“The effort isn’t just about increasing the number of beds, it is also increasing the quality of care and creating a network between all of our hospitals, whether they are county hospitals or private hospitals, so we can efficiently use those beds,” Sherin said.
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William says
This is great news! Having suffered from mental illness myself I feel we need to help all those suffering out there with mental illness and mental issues!
frank eugene says
Good start! Mrs Barger ,,,please approve additional funds for 5,500 more beds for LA county …Many homeless [mentally and physically handicapped] in downtown LA are dying every summer from heat stroke because they don’t drink any fluids and they bake all day in the hot sun…..really sad.
Mark says
This is great news. Now we have a place to put some of these lunatic liberals who voted for Gavon Newsome.
LAC Mental Health says
Five hundred beds is a token/PR move.