Santa Barbara County will reopen its crisis stabilization unit as a “locked” facility in May, adding eight beds for acute mental health treatment in Santa Barbara.
When it was previously open, it was underutilized partly because of its status as a voluntary/unlocked facility. The county also struggled to staff it and closed it temporarily in May 2022.
Both issues were addressed for its reopening, according to Behavioral Wellness. The county increased salaries and recruitment for the 16-bed Psychiatric Health Facility, and it’s fully staffed, Director Toni Navarro said.
The Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to designate the CSU as a Lanterman-Petris-Short facility, which can accept people on 5150 mental health crisis holds.
“It’s been just over two years that we had to shutter the CSU,” Navarro said Tuesday. “We’re thrilled to be turning this into a locked facility. This will really expand our capacity for acute care in the county.”
Behavioral Wellness is contracting with Crestwood Behavioral Health Inc. to staff and operate the facility, which is at the county’s Camino Del Remedio “crisis hub” along with the PHF and the Sobering Center.
The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a four-year Crestwood contract at a cost of $6.5 million per year.
Crestwood staff will evaluate and treat people who, because of a mental health disorder, are deemed a danger to themselves or others, or are gravely disabled, according to the county. The CSU has eight beds for adults who can be held for less than 24 hours.
The majority of people with acute mental health care needs can have their cases resolved within 24 hours and can be referred to step-down care, Navarro said. The CSU will offer shorter-term, lower-level acute care, and the PHF will be available for people who need longer-term care, she said.
The CSU served fewer than 300 people a year when it was a voluntary facility, and the target is to serve at least 1,000 people a year when it reopens, Navarro said.
Local hospitals reported that the number of people on 5150 mental health crisis holds increased between 2018 and 2021, even with the county’s CSU operating.
Marian Regional Medical Center opened its own CSU in 2022 and served more than 600 people in its first year.
It dramatically reduced the number of people on 5150 holds in its Santa Maria emergency room, Dr. David Ketelaar told the Board of Supervisors last year.
