As the department in recent years has been expected to fund capital maintenance and renovation, and does not have the necessary reserves to renovate this site, the department withdrew its request for future use of the Rehabilitation Institute during this year s capital planning cycle. Administrative support staff were understandably impacted when the Assistant Director of Administration left county service. These stressors negatively impacted their morale. Communication channels were impacted and morale is always negatively impacted when communication is reduced. The Mental Health Department should find space for mentally ill patients in Santa Maria.
North County has no hospital beds for short term psychiatric placement.
A report on progress will be submitted in six months on January 15, 1999. The recommendation to create psychiatric hospital beds in North County will not be implemented by the department. While we are in sympathy with North County residents desire to have a psychiatric hospital in North County, it would not be cost effective for the department to develop an additional psychiatric hospital there at this time. The overflow requirements beyond the capacity of this 16 bed locked unit are not enough to warrant the development of a new facility. If a North County hospital were to develop a private locked psychiatric unit, it would certainly be in the county s best interests to contract for overflow beds with such a unit.