Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Behavioral Health Services topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Plumas County behavioral-health staff describe medication access, telehealth and perinatal treatment plans
Summary
Nursing and substance-use staff told the Plumas County Behavioral Health Commission June 3 that medication services operate across county clinics, weekend refill gaps are rare, and work is underway to contract perinatal residential services while expanding telehealth SUD care.
Eliza Fletcher, the nursing supervisor for the county behavioral health program, told the commission June 3 that the county maintains three medication providers — a psychiatrist, a psychiatric nurse practitioner and a medical director for the substance-use team — and that clinics in Chester, Portola and Quincy provide medication services.
"We have 3 medication providers," Fletcher said, adding that most clients "can wait till Monday" for refills and that very few clients are on controlled medications that would pose an urgent weekend access issue.
Commission members pressed staff on options for opioid treatment. Fletcher said the county does not operate an in-house methadone clinic and that establishing one would require on-site medical coverage and significant certification. Staff noted an existing contract that allows residents to access methadone services through Aegis Chico, while the county is encouraging buprenorphine (Suboxone) treatment for most patients.
Gary, the substance-use program lead, reported on a separate but related substance-use services update. He said the county is completing a substance-use block grant application, completing AOD certification work required statewide, and has been negotiating contracts to increase perinatal residential capacity. "We are very hopeful" about contracting with Progress House in Placer County for perinatal placements because Progress House has the bed capacity and waivers the county needs to bill Drug Medi‑Cal for those services, Gary said.
Gary also described telehealth staffing additions: a new telehealth substance-use disorder counselor, Willie Turner, is completing onboarding and is expected to start group sessions soon. He said the county submitted requests for monitoring of Granite Wellness and other contracted providers and that limited block-grant funds — $40,000 previously allocated for Granite Wellness and another $40,000 proposed for Progress House — will be managed alongside efforts to bill Drug Medi‑Cal where possible.
On capacity, Gary said a single residential placement was made in May and the county continues to rely on out-of-county residential and public programs when state plan rules or bed availability require it.
The commission did not take formal votes on contracts or new placements at the meeting; the discussion focused on programmatic options, funding constraints and next steps for contracting and billing.
