Health Department lays out $50M behavioral-health push and EPIC electronic record rollout

Dr. Grant Colfax, director of the Department of Public Health, presented the department's fiscal proposal and a set of priorities that place additional resources on behavioral-health capacity and infrastructure.

DPH's proposed budget for FY20 is roughly $2.4 billion, driven by large clinical delivery operations and community provider contracts. Colfax said the mayor's proposal includes a $50 million investment over two years to expand behavioral-health treatment capacity — the administration is targeting roughly 200 new treatment beds along with investments in shelter health, medical respite and sober spaces. "One of our key priorities is serving vulnerable populations and the mayor's proposed on making strong behavioral health investments. $50,000,000 over 2 years," Colfax said.

The department also plans to move forward with the first wave of an EPIC electronic health record rollout to replace multiple legacy systems and unify clinical, billing and reporting functionality — a long‑sought modernization intended to improve patient care and enable better Medicaid/Medicare reimbursement capture. Colfax framed EPIC as an equity and quality initiative that will improve care coordination across DPH's safety-net clinics and hospitals.

Supervisors pressed DPH for detail on vacancies (DPH reported roughly 213 vacancies across nearly 6,900 budgeted FTEs) and on staffing for outreach and case-management; DPH committed to return with detailed breakdowns of social-worker headcount, outreach-team staffing and diversion statistics for psychiatric emergency services and emergency departments.

Provenance: DPH presentation and extensive subsequent committee Q&A on behavioral-health investments and staffing during the June 14 hearing.