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DPH lays out Mental Health SF priorities, cites bed, staffing and budget constraints amid COVID-19
Summary
Department of Public Health officials described a phased Mental Health SF implementation that prioritizes an Office of Coordinated Care, bed-capacity investments and crisis-response teams; DPH cited modeling that suggests roughly $11M initial investment to reduce wait times and an annual $13M cost to expand access to 24/7 behavioral-health urgent care, and warned hiring and real-estate constraints will slow implementation.
On July 23 the Department of Public Health told the Public Safety & Neighborhood Services Committee it will use a phased approach to implement Mental Health SF amid COVID-19 budget constraints, prioritizing an Office of Coordinated Care, bed-capacity and flow improvements, crisis-response teams, and planning for an expanded mental-health services center.
Dr. Hallie Hammer, Director of Ambulatory Care for the San Francisco Health Network, described recent COVID-19 trends and said hospitalizations that spiked in late June have begun to plateau. Hammer said DPH is proposing to begin implementation this fiscal year by focusing on a small set of high-leverage priorities rather than a full rollout.
Key elements discussed included:
- Office of Coordinated Care: a centralized body to improve access, data collection, staff training, outreach materials and a bed-tracking system;…
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