During this Mental Illness Awareness Week, Matt Holzmann writes that we should all see ourselves as first responders when it comes to mental health, warning we can’t just leave public safety officers alone in dealing with mentally ill in our communities. Instead, Holzmann notes that education and early intervention are key to successful outcomes.
Tag: mental health
Posted inCountywide, Health & Wellness, Top Stories
Contract Dispute Could Have Left Some CalOptima Patients Without Mental Health Care
A contract dispute between Magellan Healthcare and CalOptima, the county’s health plan for low-income and elderly residents, may have left some of CalOptima’s 710,000 patients without mental health care when, for nine days in July, Magellan refused to process Medi-Cal payment claims.
Posted inHealth & Wellness, Santa Ana, Top Stories
Santa Ana May Convert Part of Jail to Mental Health Center
Santa Ana’s detainees now are held at county jails, leaving over 300 empty beds at the city jail. Most City Council members said they want to consider a mental health facility.
Posted inGovernment, Health & Wellness, Investigative, Top Stories
Supervisors Approve Funding for New Mental Health Crisis Facility
The county Board of Supervisors this week approved plans to open a facility in Garden Grove that will treat patients, including children, who are experiencing mental health crisis. Scheduled to open in December, the facility will address the county’s acute shortage of psychiatric beds.
Posted inCosta Mesa, Countywide, Health & Wellness, Housing & Homelessness, Top Stories
Costa Mesa Property Eyed as Site for Mental Health Service Center
The state may shutter a 114-acre property that currently houses developmentally disabled adults. Homeless advocates, and a state senator, say the property should be re-purposed as a center for homeless people and others who need temporary housing and mental health services.
Posted inCommunity Opinion, Countywide, Health & Wellness
Holzmann: CURES Act Promises Major Changes in Mental Health Care
Mental health advocates are hopeful the 21st Century CURES Act will be a positive and new direction for mental health care.
Posted inCommunity Opinion, Costa Mesa, Countywide, Health & Wellness, Housing & Homelessness
Holzmann: Costa Mesa Mental Health Campus Key to Solving OC Homelessness
Could the state’s aging mental health campus in Costa Mesa, Fairview Developmental Center, be the key toward improving mental health outcomes out on the streets of Orange County?
Posted inEducation, Santa Ana, Top Stories
Mental Health Money Top Issue in Santa Ana School Board Forum
Candidates for seats on the Santa Ana Unified School District board delved into issues like expanding mental health support for students and the need to end the so-called “school-to-prison pipeline”
Posted inBuena Park, Countywide, Health & Wellness, Top Stories
Mental Health Advocates Express ‘Outrage’ Over New Knott’s Attraction
A new Halloween horror attraction that opened last week at Knott’s Berry Farm has drawn criticism from advocates who say it includes offensive and dehumanizing depictions of mental health patients.
Posted inCountywide, Government, Health & Wellness, Top Stories
Greater Focus on Mental Health Care in OC, But Progress Remains Slow
For years, local political leaders largely ignored Orange County’s severe shortage of psychiatric beds, which has contributed to, among other things, the current homelessness crisis. But they are beginning to direct their policymaking to the problem.
