County and Lodi present access-center plans, clinic co-location and funding; behavioral-health respite beds and HRSA clinic earmarked
Loading...
Summary
County and Lodi officials updated the Board on the Lodi Access Center project and co-located clinic plans, describing funding already allocated and programs earmarked to support shelter-based services.
San Joaquin County staff and Lodi officials updated the Board of Supervisors on the Lodi Access Center project, a planned shelter and coordinated services campus that county and city leaders said is intended to expand local shelter capacity and streamline behavioral-health and primary-care access for shelter residents and others.
Funding overview: Staff recapped previously allocated funds and program earmarks connected to the project: $2,800,000 in county capital-outlay funding previously authorized for site acquisition and infrastructure; $8,200,000 in county ARPA funds intended to complete phases 1—6 (including furnishings, landscaping and parking); an allocated $575,000 from Behavioral Health Bridge Housing grant funds earmarked for six mental-health respite beds; and a $1.8 million HRSA community-health grant that county clinics plan to deploy at the site. Together with the other allocations discussed, staff said about $13.38 million is currently invested or earmarked for the Lodi Access Center and related infrastructure.
Services and co-location: County health staff described a proposed model that co-locates a clinic (San Joaquin Health) with behavioral-health partners and an on-site Sobering Center to provide a clinically supervised alternative destination for EMS and law enforcement drop-offs. The health-clinic space would be adapted and staffed to serve the shelter population and house addiction-medicine clinicians; county staff said they would recruit addiction-trained physicians and a physician leader for the site so the center could provide integrated medical and behavioral care.
Behavioral-health beds and housing: Behavioral Health staff said they would use a portion of the Bridge Housing funds to create six local mental-health respite beds on the site and discussed links to a nearby (Main Street) housing project where clients could be referred for longer-term placements.
Governance and next steps: The project is a city-county partnership. County staff noted a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the county and the City of Lodi that governs ARPA and capital-outlay funding; staff said the MOU then requires further city approvals and that sale or transfer of the site to a competing operator could violate grant deed restrictions and undermine the county's behavioral-health funding conditions. The city retains decision authority over site operations; county staff said they will return with more detailed agreements and recommended contract actions as the partnership advances.
No board vote was required for the informational update. Supervisors asked staff to bring back detailed operating plans and to continue coordination with the city, public-safety agencies and hospital and clinic partners.
