Capital Facilities and Technology

Overview

A portion of the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) funds have been set aside for Capital Facilities and Technology (CFTN) to support the efficient implementation of the MHSA. CFTN projects shall produce lasting benefits that move the mental health system towards the goals of wellness, recovery, resiliency, cultural competence, prevention and early intervention, and expansion of opportunities for accessible community-based services for clients and their families to reduce disparities among underserved groups.

ACBH seeks to use the CFTN funds as follows:

Capital Facilities

The Capital Facilities will fund the acquisition, construction and/or rehabilitation of at least three large facilities in different regions of the County. These funds will be used to establish additional service space for MHSA programs. Any funds remaining after the completion of these three projects will be utilized for small expansion or remodeling projects at existing county-owned or controlled facilities. These small projects may only be used to improve service space for MHSA programs and activities.

CFTN Plan Requirements

Capital Facilities

A “Capital Facility” is a building secured to a foundation which is permanently affixed to the ground and used for the delivery of MHSA services to individuals with mental illness and their families or for offices that support the administration of these services. Capital Facility expenditures must result in:

  • A capital asset which increases the County Department of Mental Health’s infrastructure on a permanent basis; and
  • An expansion of the capacity of, or of consumer and family member access to, new or existing MHSA services.

Capital Facilities Projects FY 18/20

South County Homeless Project (SCHP)

The South County Homeless Project (SCHP) emergency shelter provides 24 shelter beds for men and women with serious mental illness currently experiencing homelessness. The shelter operates out of a county-owned property in Hayward and has not received any significant maintenance or upgrade work since it was first used for this purpose in 1989. Scope of work will include assessment of the property and rehabilitation of key areas including the Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems, electrical, plumbing, fire safety and prevention systems, and other areas.

Villa Fairmont Renovation

This is a county-owned property on the Villa Fairmont campus in San Leandro. This building operates a 97-bed licensed Mental Health Rehabilitation Center. It serves adults with a history of severe mental illness and repeated hospitalizations. The flooring within the Villa Fairmont building is in need of renovation as they have not received maintenance and repairs in many years.

Past Capital Facilities Projects

Crisis and Consultation Service Center in Central County

  • The Crisis Response program will serve individuals and families impacted by a mental health crisis.
  • The Geriatric Assessment & Response Team (GART) will provide mobile integrated health services to older adults with mental health issues in a variety of settings.
  • The Co-Occurring Disorder consultation effort will provide mental health consultation for AOD providers and their consumers.
  • The Family & Education Resource Center (FERC) will provide services to consumers and family members.

Wellness Center

Provides a coordinated, strategic approach to training and staff development. Develops, researches and provides a broad array of training related to mental health practice; wellness, recovery and resiliency; consumer and family employment and management development.

Consumer and Family Employment Toolkit

The Wellness Center is intended to serve a diverse group of consumers and families including underserved ethnic communities with a focus on serving individuals and families impacted by serious mental illness or serious emotional disturbances. The following MHSA programs may be co-located at the Wellness Center:

  • Wellness & Recovery Team
  • Recovery Resource and Education Center,
  • CHOICES,
  • Stigma and Discrimination Reduction Campaign,
  • Consumer-operated program offices, etc.

Renovation and/ or Expansion of County-owned or County-controlled properties for use by MHSA programs/activities

The MHSA program(s) to be located at the facility are to be determined

For more information about Capital Facilities Projects, please contact Tracy Hazelton, MHSA Division Director, at Tracy.hazelton@acgov.org.

Technology

CFTN Plan Requirements

Technology Funding

The Technological Needs Project(s) must meet the goals of modernization/ transformation or client/ family empowerment within a framework of an Integrated Information Systems Infrastructure.

Technology Projects FY 17/18

MHSA Technology Project

Purchase, installation and maintenance of a new Behavioral Health Management Information System, to include: billing, managed care, e-prescribing functions, data interoperability and functions as needed to support clinical and fiscal operations of ACBH. Additional expenditures for the necessary support staff during the implementation process, and other projects that provide access to consumers and family members to their personal health information and other wellness and recovery supports. In addition, ACBH developed and has implemented Yellowfin (a ACBH dashboard of utilization data) to facilitate client data collection and outcome evaluation.

Past Technology Projects

Electronic Health Record (EHR)

Implementation of electronic health records based on technology that supports interoperability with other systems to ensure a dynamic data exchange with other entities involved in the care of consumers. Given the vast network of ACBH service providers in Alameda County, ACBH’ seeks to facilitate the use of an electronic health record by both county-owned and operated programs, as well as the contracted provider community. This will allow the most efficient data exchange and coordination of services. In cases where contracting providers already have an electronic health record system in place, standardized data exchange will facilitate the transmittal of data from one system to another to ensure a seamless integration of client data.

Provision of computer resources

Provision of computer resources in locations where consumers and family members gather and receive services to allow consumers to access the internet and other software. Computers will be used for educational purposes, accessing job-related information, public policy materials, accessing/managing personal health information and other tools to promote wellness and recovery such as Patricia Deegan’s Common Ground shared decision-making software.

Electronic Prescription Functionality

Development of electronic prescription functionality that will be available for consumers in Alameda County. E-prescribing improves quality of care and reduces medication errors, including the possibility of a misread prescription by a dispensing pharmacist. E-prescribing applications alert doctors to potential drug-to-drug/food interactions and drug allergies, provide pregnancy and lactation alerts, provide peer medication dosing patterns and provide online access to clinical references.

Personal Health Record

Development of a Personal Health Record (PHR) that will be available to consumers to access important aspects of their Electronic Medical Record, including scheduled appointments, treatment information, options for completing a Wellness and Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) and options for communicating with clinical staff. The specific function of the PHR will be determined by emerging PHR standards, stakeholder processes, clinical care policy, security implications, and other technical and administrative issues that emerge with accessing health information electronically.

For more information about Technology Projects, please contact Tracy Hazelton, MHSA Division Director, at Tracy.hazelton@acgov.org.

Additional Information

For more information about Capital Facilities and Technology in Alameda County, please: