While many cities and counties continue to struggle closing the state funding gap for mental health services from over the last decade, the news appears to be better for Nevada County. Health and Human Services Director Michael Heggarty says their budget has increased steadily…

click to listen to Michael Heggarty

Meanwhile, Heggarty says a one-point-three million dollar Crisis Stabilization Unit at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital is now scheduled to open next April. But the cost has changed the way the county spends on mental health services…

click to listen to Michael Heggarty

Heggarty says the focus is more on people with the most serious illnesses, which somtimes leaves others with less urgent needs unable to access services. He says the current Mental Health facility is near or at capacity most of the time. But Heggarty says the Crisis Stabilization Unit can serve four emergency patients at a time for up to 24 hours, which has never been available in the county before.