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Plumas County therapist outlines jail mental‑health services and EMR plan to improve reentry
Summary
Matt Ward, lead therapist for the county jail, told the Plumas County Behavioral Health Commission the jail holds NCCHC accreditation, is moving to an on‑site EMR to improve continuity of care and hopes to bill for some services through CalAIM; staffing shortages limit group programming now.
Matt Ward, the county’s lead therapist for jail‑based services, told the Plumas County Behavioral Health Commission that the jail maintains NCCHC accreditation and is preparing to move from paper charts to an on‑site electronic medical record (EMR) to improve continuity of care.
"We were one of the first of the smaller jails to get this accreditation," Ward said, adding that an EMR will let staff look up past medical histories, coordinate psychiatric referrals and start discharge planning earlier. He said the county is exploring whether the EMR could enable billing under CalAIM’s 90‑day Justice InReach project but that details remain under development.
Ward described current in‑custody services as intakes, screening, assessments, psychiatry and individual therapy, but said staffing shortages have forced postponement of group programming. "Right now there’s under 30 people in custody and about a third have significant mental‑health diagnoses," he said, and noted the department has shortened its contact timeline to three to four days after booking to engage people sooner.
Commissioners asked whether psychiatry is provided by telehealth; Ward said a psychiatrist attends about once a week to meet patients and start referrals. On medication‑assisted treatment (MAT), he said availability in custody is limited by the jail environment because some medications present abuse risks, but inmates who were on MAT before booking often can continue treatment.
The commission pressed on whether the EMR could legally and practically share behavioral‑health information with community providers under HIPAA. Staff said the county plans to register with the regional health information exchange and that, with appropriate consent and permissions, the EMR could improve medication continuity and referrals; Partnership Health Plan’s exchange already serves many North State providers.
The presentation concluded with follow‑up commitments: staff will discuss EMR rollout logistics with the jail commander and invite Sac Valley Med next month to explain how first‑responder modules and data sharing could work in practice. The commission did not take any formal action on the presentation.
