Mental health, psychiatric health facility ready to open in Yuba City

Sep. 18--A new mental health rehabilitation and psychiatric health facility is ready to open its doors to north state clients starting next week after approximately $2 million worth of renovations were recently completed to a long-time vacant building in Yuba City.

The 50,000-square-foot building -- located at 1251 Stabler Lane -- will house both the Cedar Grove Mental Health Rehabilitation Center (part of Willow Glen Care Center) and Stabler Lane Behavioral Health (part of North Valley Behavioral Health). The facility will include approximately 60 beds and the two providers combined will employ 90-100 people.

Services provided through the programs will focus on individuals experiencing psychiatric episodes or other mental health challenges. Program providers will contract with up to 25 north state counties -- it is anticipated that clients from the Yuba-Sutter area will comprise up to 20 percent of the clientele at the facilities.

"Northern California has significant need for these types of services," said Jeff Payne, executive director of Willow Glen Care Center. "The smaller Northern California counties don't have as many beds as Central and Southern California, so oftentimes counties have to send clients very far away from home to receive services."

The building was built in 1989 and previously served as a psychiatric hospital up until it closed in 2008. Renovations have been underway since May and included updates to meet current code and accessibility standards, various floor plan changes and some interior finishes were replaced, as well as updates to mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems. Two new entrances with awnings were built and the parking lot had to be modified as well.

"It was a pretty extensive overhaul and rehab of the building," Payne said. "It was a 30-year-old building that had sat unoccupied for a number of years."

The facility will be locked 24/7 and be staffed around the clock, providing care, supervision and security to clients. Length of stay will depend on the services clients receive. Patients through Stabler Lane Behavioral Health will likely average 3-5 days, while the average length of stay for Cedar Grove can be between 60-90 days. In all cases, individual care will be coordinated with the referring county mental health agency.

Referrals will come from multiple sources, including higher levels of acute, locked, or other long-term placements, such as state hospitals, or from lower levels of supervised or independent living. Clients will not be discharged directly into the community unless they are from the Yuba-Sutter area and it has been preauthorized.

Payne said construction has been completed and his team expects to open its doors within the next few days.

"We are still waiting on a few last-minute sign offs, but I think it's safe to say that we will start having clients by next Monday," he said.

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