County hopes to turn blighted hospital into mental health care hub

Merced County officials hope to restore the blighted old hospital on 13th Street as a new, all-in-one mental health facility.

At one time, the 176,000-square-foot facility was bustling with life, with space for at least 120 patients and a full spectrum of medical services, including cardiac, critical care, emergency, family birthing, orthopedic, rehabilitation, surgical and respiratory care.

The building, built in 1952, has been vacant since 2010 after construction of the new Mercy Medical Center in north Merced was completed. The building was turned over to Merced County, which uses a portion of the site for storage.

Since then, copper-wire thieves have ravaged the building. The windows are boarded up, weeds are peeking through the asphalt in the parking lot, broken glass litters the floor inside the building, and exposed wires reach out of the ceiling and walls everywhere.

County officials hope to change that.

The county’s mental health department is proposing a $27 million project to renovate 82,000 square feet of the building, establishing a new crisis residential unit and consolidating other mental health services in one location. The project, upon approval by the Board of Supervisors, would take 18 months to two years to complete.

“From a service delivery standpoint, we want to make it as user-friendly and customer-focused as possible,” said Yvonnia Brown, the county’s director of mental health.

The goal is to house several departments in the building, including Adult System of Care Services, Substance-Use Disorder Services, central intake and access services for Community Access to Recovery Services, Adult Wellness Center, Medical Services, the Public Guardian/Conservator Program and mental health administration.

“We’re full with our current locations,” Brown said. “This opportunity would provide more services to the community. We’re limited now, based on space challenges.”

Richard Hawthorne, a member of the Alcohol and Drug Advisory Board, said clients are more likely to follow through with their treatment if it’s easier to navigate through the process.

“We want them to follow through,” Hawthorne said. “If they have to travel to different locations, we might lose them in the process. If we bring the services together in one building, the odds go up that those clients are going to get the treatment they need.”

The county now rents four spaces for mental health services. The cost savings in rent would be more than $320,000 yearly. That money could be put back into services, Brown said.

The new crisis residential unit would be a 16-bed facility that could house patients ages 18 to 62 for up to 30 days. The space would be for individuals experiencing decompensation – deterioration of mental health – or who need stabilization instead of being hospitalized, Brown said.

The new unit would supplement the Marie Green Center on 15th Street, which provides treatment for individuals who need brief hospitalization as a result of a crisis or emergency.

The crisis residential unit is a collaboration by six counties, funded through Senate Bill 82, or the Investment in Mental Health Wellness Act. Clients from Calaveras, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Stanislaus and Tuolumne counties will be driven to and from the facility for treatment.

Brown noted other counties will not be abandoning their clients in Merced after treatment. The Senate bill provides for transportation funding.

“The cars will eliminate barriers for the client to transition,” Brown said. “Clients thrive more in their own community. This (the crisis residential unit) is a short, temporary stay. The clients want to go back home.”

The mental health department completed a feasibility study several years ago and is preparing to submit a design package and cost estimate to the Board of Supervisors in the upcoming month or so before putting the project out to bid. The project will be funded by capital improvement money in the mental health department’s budget. No money will come from the county’s general fund, Brown said.

Though the old hospital building may need a lot of aesthetic work, the building is structurally sound and has gone through asbestos abatement.

Brown hopes the design of the new facility will look less like a hospital. “We want it to be inviting so we’re not contributing to the stigma surrounding mental health,” she said.

Early plans for the building include a Zen garden, basketball court and an outdoor dining area.

Centralizing services at the old hospital building once it’s renovated also will give the county the chance to expand mental health services.

“It’s really a win-win for the county, for clients and for the local community,” said Mike North, a spokesman for the county. “It’s going to go a long way in really improving mental health services here in the county.”

Said Brown: “We’re all excited about the possibility of this new project.”

This story was originally published March 10, 2016 at 6:01 PM with the headline "County hopes to turn blighted hospital into mental health care hub."