SAN BERNARDINO >> A new voluntary behavioral health residential treatment center has been completed that county officials say will help meet some regional needs.
The 16-bed “mission style” Casa Paseo Center, built to look like a single-family home, is awaiting state certification expected in July so that it can accept patients, said Aimara Freeman, spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health.
This facility is the first of five additional structures planned to open by spring 2018 representing a departure from institutional-like mental health treatment.
A staff of 45, including doctors, nurses, social workers and counselors, are undergoing training for the facility, said Kent Dunlap, president and chief executive officer of Long Beach-based Stars Behavioral Health Group, which will operate the facility for San Bernardino County.
“This is a place that is welcoming and inviting for people who are experiencing a psychiatric crisis,” Veronica Kelley, director of the county behavioral health department, told about 150 people gathered at a grand opening Tuesday for the 10,944-square-foot facility at 720 E. Gilbert St. in San Bernardino.
“That speaks volumes about the values of San Bernardino County,” Kelley said.
“We aim to reach more people with needed services, reduce involuntary hospitalizations and/or inappropriate incarcerations and promote recovery,” Kelley said in a statement.
The purpose of the facility, called a crisis residential treatment center, is to provide short-term, recovery-based treatment options, services and interventions in a home-like setting for up to 90 days, county officials said.
When people leave, they won’t just be released to the street, Kelley said.
They will have support, which could include outpatient behavioral health services, housing and educational assistance, Dunlap said.
The idea of the crisis residential treatment center is to bridge the gap between someone experiencing a severe behavioral crisis, perhaps in a lookdown facility, and being discharged back into general society, he said.
The four crisis residential treatment centers in San Bernardino County are part of a $22.2 million grant the county received from the state of California.
There will be three additional crisis residential treatment centers: one each in Victorville and Fontana, while the groundbreaking for one in Joshua Tree is scheduled for Monday.
Additionally, two crisis stabilization units, which are for more acute psychiatric incidents for up to 23 hours, are expected to be open in spring 2018.
One will be in Fontana and one in San Bernardino, county officials said.
In the crisis residential treatment model, patients will assist in cooking their own meals, mealtime cleanup and laundry as well as other chores.
It’s hoped that patients will be able to incorporate food they grow in gardens on the 3-acre property into their mealtime preparations, said Jennifer Edge-Ballantine, a program specialist with San Bernardino County.
