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Behavioral health crisis center opening delayed; county outlines staffing and operational plan
Summary
County behavioral-health staff reported construction and procurement delays for the new crisis center, outlined a phased staffing and scheduling plan, and said they are pursuing a financial model intended to be cost-neutral to the county with CCO support.
Damien (behavioral health lead) and project managers updated commissioners on the county’s behavioral health crisis center, describing construction progress, procurement delays for specialty safety hardware, staffing plans and financial arrangements with the local CCO.
Construction and timeline: staff said the building’s specialized safety features — including anti-ligature doors and other nonstandard hardware — required a small number of specialty components that were returned by a vendor and must be reordered. That procurement issue, staff said, pushed the center’s timeline beyond earlier target dates. The project manager Stacy and others said the move-in will happen once the specialty components are delivered and final inspections are complete; staff cautioned that an open-house date that had been discussed would likely be pushed back.
Operations and staffing: county officials described an initial stabilization model (a short-term, 23-hour stabilization service) that will expand into a 24/7 operation in stages. Staffing plans call for a 4/10 schedule with overlapping days for administrative work, then a swing shift and a later night/graveyard shift as operations scale. County staff said hiring had accelerated and that bargaining with staff had been completed.
Budget and finance: behavioral-health leaders said they are pursuing an offset model with IHN (the county’s coordinated care organization) to make the facility cost-neutral to county general fund dollars. Staff reported ongoing work with finance and IHN to develop a revenue-offset justification based on estimated diversion from emergency departments; staff cited a regional diversion rate example around 30% and asked the CCO to consider potential savings from avoided emergency-department use when evaluating ongoing operating support.
Operational logistics: staff noted practical constraints for an urban site, including limited parking and the need for creative, possibly shared parking solutions; they also described significant work by county IT and communications staff to prepare for an eventual public open house.
Ending: Commissioners were asked to expect a revised schedule for move-in and open-house events, and staff said they will continue hiring and finalize contracts and parking arrangements prior to an operational launch.
