Shasta County Health and Human Services Director Christy Coleman speaks to the board last month. Photo by Nevin Kallepalli.
A behavioral health proposal that was submitted to the state last month in hopes of gaining $150 million in mental health funds has now obtained support from Health and Human Services Director Christy Coleman.
Coleman’s change of mind on the project was announced today by Arch Collaborative, the nonprofit that’s coordinated an application for a behavioral health campus that would be situated in Shasta and operated by privately-owned Signature Healthcare Services in order to serve the larger North State.
During a tense county board meeting called last month just days before the proposal for the project was due to the state, Coleman laid out her objections in a page-long letter claiming, without data or documentation, that such a facility wasn’t needed in Shasta and that it would create untenable costs for the county.
She was joined in opposition by Shasta County board chair Kevin Crye whose opposition letter broadly matched that of Coleman. Together the two won over Supervisors Chris Kelstrom and Corkey Harmon who agreed — against overwhelming public outcry — to issue a letter opposing the project instead of supporting it.
Despite that opposition, Arch Collaborative and Signature submitted their proposal anyway, as allowed by the state, amid rousing support from two other supervisors and the broader community. In the days following that submission, Tehama supervisors indicated their interest in hosting the facility should it face continued roadblocks in Shasta.
Last week, members of the Mental Health, Alcohol and Drug Advisory Board (MHADAB) publilcly discussed having sent a letter about the project to Coleman last month, advising that she support it. Coleman spoke during the meeting saying that she had unanswered questions pending and in response, Arch Collaborative CEO Kimberly Johnson rose to give public comment emphasizing her interest in meeting with Coleman and saying that she’d be happy to work through her concerns.
That information-sharing process appears to have changed Coleman’s mind about the project: a statement released by the HHSA director today said that she now realizes she was acting on only partial information when she opposed the project last month.
But over the past few weeks, Coleman explained in the press release, she and her team have “completed a deeper review of the financial models, payor mix, Medi-Cal impact, staffing implications, and regional commitments related to the campus.” Doing so, she said, has allowed HHSA to “realize the value of the project to the county and the community, including how it supports state and federal requirements.”
“True North’s proposal would keep clients in care closer to home,” Coleman explained, “rather than placing them far from their support systems. This would offer a meaningful shift for our residents and for our system of care. In addition, it would allow Shasta County to leverage federal match dollars for behavioral health care.”
The press release from Arch Collaborative today indicates that Supervisor Kelstrom has also had a change of heart and has submitted his own letter in support of the project. Kelstrom’s statement, shared by Arch Collaborative, noted that he feels there’s now a solid path forward. A text communication shared with Shasta Scout by Johnson indicates that public health official Dr. James Mu is now also supporting the project after withdrawing his support during the meeting last month. Nine individual deputy district attorneys have also submitted letters of support for the project this week, Johnson said.
All told, more than 50 letters of support have been submitted to the state on behalf of the True North project by organizations, agencies, and community leaders, Arch Collaborative says, noting that the campus plan was developed in response to hundreds of engagements held across the North State over the last year.
“Counties, hospitals, service providers, law enforcement, and families consistently identified the same urgent priorities,” Arch Collaborative spokesperson Sarah Peery explained, saying those include “local crisis stabilization, inpatient psychiatric treatment, youth services, and medically supported detox, all available close to home.”
Conspicuously absent in today’s press releases was the voice of county board chair Crye, who called a public meeting to oppose the project last month. In statements during that meeting he referred to the proposed True North facility as a moral evil, posing his opposition to the project as an effort to metaphorically slay his enemies and stop the facility from “infecting” Shasta County.
Today, Crye spoke briefly to Shasta Scout by phone explaining that he’s now supporting the project because “the state has capitulated” to the county’s demands. Asked why Coleman did not address any changes from the state in her press release today, Crye said “people need to do their homework” and noted that he’ll issue a press release with more details Monday.
The state is expected to announce awards in response to project proposals for Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program (BHCIP) funds, in the spring. If awarded BHCIP funds, Signature health would receive $150 million to build the facility which would be paired with the organization’s own investment of $50 million.
True North is currently slated to be built in the City of Shasta Lake and will include a crisis stabilization unit with spaces for eight adults and four children, a social rehabilitation facility with 16 beds for short-term stays, 16 inpatient psychiatric beds, 16 secure youth residential beds and an intensive outpatient care program with room for twenty clients. The various services within the facility are designed to fit together in a way that reduces reliance on emergency rooms and the Shasta County Jail as a holding place for those facing acute mental health crises.
Arch Collaborative CEO Johnson said today that she and others in the collaboration are “grateful for the partnership shown by HHSA in recent weeks and remain committed to transparent, collaborative work that strengthens the behavioral health system for our region.”
She said her organization, along with Signature, will continue working closely with HHSA to ensure project readiness, financial safeguards, and a coordinated, community-centered implementation plan should the project be funded.
For those who continue to have questions, concerns, or thoughts to share on the project, Supervisor Matt Plummer is holding a town hall meeting early next month. The Dec. 8 meeting will run from 6-8 p.m. at Dignity Health Connected Living, located on Mercy Oaks Drive.
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