Earlier this week, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced it would delay adopting emergency regulations for acute psychiatric hospital staffing until June 1, rather than its original deadline of Jan. 31.
This shift in the state’s timeline helps avert an immediate crisis in the availability of psychiatric hospital care in California, as hospitals were expected to be forced to take at least 800 beds offline (a loss of the ability to care for some 16,000 patients annually) as soon as this Saturday. These bed closures would have pushed even more patients in need of psychiatric care into already overcrowded hospital emergency departments.
Last year, the state Legislature directed CDPH to adopt emergency regulations establishing the new psychiatric hospital staffing standards by Jan. 31. CDPH’s announcement of the delay came after widespread concerns were shared by dozens of organizations, including CHA, the California Medical Association, the California Behavioral Health Association, the California Police Chiefs Association, the California State Sheriff’s Association, and more. The extensive experience and collective voice of these organizations came together and achieved a far more reasonable timeline for hospitals — preventing state regulators from creating a needless, statewide crisis.
With CDPH’s announcement, psychiatric hospitals are expected to come into compliance with the new ratios in the “emergency regulations” over the next four months. Once the emergency regulations are in place, according to the bill passed last year, CDPH would have until July 31, 2027, to finalize “permanent regulations.”
That timeframe — from June 2026 through July 2027 — provides additional opportunities to seek modifications that address key concerns. During that period, hospitals will continue to press CDPH for changes that allow a different mix of caregivers to meet staffing ratios and some flexibility during nighttime hours, when patients are asleep.
Thank you to all who elevated their perspectives — hospitals, behavioral health partners, law enforcement organizations, and more — in service of unified advocacy that has created critical breathing room for hospitals to address new staffing standards.
