About Behavioral Health
Many Californians can’t get the behavioral health care they need due to a shortage of resources. In fact, 92% of hospitals that provide psychiatric inpatient care report they are unable to admit new patients because discharging current patients to step-down care is so difficult. This congestion means patients are in more restrictive settings than they need, which leads to emergency department overcrowding. To address California’s behavioral health crisis, strategies must mirror those in primary care — where the goal is to prevent illness and provide the right care in the right setting.
Delay in Staffing Policy Prevents Psychiatric Care Crisis
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.
Psychiatric Staffing Ratio Proposal Would Immediately Upend Care
A dangerous and detrimental staffing ratio mandate for freestanding psychiatric hospitals that would make it harder for Californians to get treatment for mental health disorders is careening toward approval.
Proposed Staffing Regulations Will Immediately Reduce Psychiatric Hospital Beds, Upending Behavioral Health Care in California
In a proposal that is as baffling as it is irresponsible, new regulations from the California Department of Public Health will prevent Californians from getting the mental health care they desperately need.