Mental health made easier: County to create ‘one-stop shop’

Abandoned since 2010, the crumbling former Merced County Hospital is about to undergo a major renovation to become a centralized hub for mental health services.

Merced County officials celebrated the groundbreaking Wednesday of the new Behavioral Health Center, calling the moment “historic” and “monumental.”

Yvonnia Brown, the county’s mental health director, said the vision of the remodel goes back many years and hopes the new building will be a “seamless service delivery system.”

“This is a monumental step in the right direction,” said Iris Mojica de Tatum, chair of the county’s behavioral health board. “All I hear in the community is ‘thank goodness’ and ‘finally.’ ”

Mojica de Tatum said the creation of a one-stop experience for people needing mental health services will provide relief for those struggling to reach facilities currently scattered across the city.

“They may have a token, minimal gas, or to put it bluntly, they may have no transportation,” Mojica de Tatum said. They “face the challenge of going from 13th Street, to 19th and M streets, or to M Street and Olive Avenue, to get these services.”

More than 50 people gathered at the boarded-up hospital building Wednesday morning for the groundbreaking ceremony.

The $31 million project will renovate the old county hospital on 13th Street, which has been vacant since 2010, to a new site that will include adult substance use disorder services, adult mental health services, a dual diagnosis program, medical services, intake and access to Community Access to Recovery Services, a wellness center, administration, the public guardian/conservator program and a new crisis residential unit.

The work, scheduled to be complete in about 18 months, is to be done by Harris Construction Co. of Fresno.

Hub Walsh, District 2 supervisor, said he worked in the old hospital when it was a community hospital. “This is really about our service to the community,” he said.

Having all mental health services in one location will encourage patients to follow through with their treatment and remove barriers such as transportation, officials said. The new facility also will give mental health programs room to grow.

The county currently rents four spaces for mental health services and estimates the cost savings in rent to be more than $320,000 yearly.

The crisis residential unit, a new service, will 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 a deterioration of mental health who need to be stabilized instead of hospitalized.

That part of the project is funded by Senate Bill 82, or the Investment in Mental Health Wellness Act, and will function as a collaboration among six counties: Calaveras, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Stanislaus and Tuolumne. The funding covers transportation costs to drive patients back to their home counties after they are discharged.

“Everybody has been touched by mental illness,” said Shannon Picciano, district representative for state Sen. Anthony Cannella, R-Ceres. “This is a vital asset for the most vulnerable people in our community.”

This story was originally published July 13, 2016 at 6:09 PM with the headline "Mental health made easier: County to create ‘one-stop shop’."