An expansion project for the psychiatric crisis stabilization unit at Marin County General Hospital in Greenbrae, Calif., was orginally intended to be finished by the end of 2017, but construction will begin this month, according to the Marin Independent Journal.
The county's only inpatient mental health facility is a 17-bed unit next to the CSU at Marin General Hospital. The CSU was becoming increasingly overcrowded due to a lack of longer-term inpatient beds, Suzanne Tavano, director of Marin County's Behavioral Health and Recovery Services division, told the Marin Independent Journal. Several months ago, 46 percent of Marin residents who needed psychiatric hospitalization were being sent to facilities outside of the county.
The $1 million project will increase the facility's beds from five to 10, add two patient interview rooms, improve mechanical systems, install injury-proof fixtures and work to increase the unit's accessibility.
Marin County received a $946,000 grant from the state in May 2016 to cover the majority of the cost, but the grant required the work had to be finished by the end of 2017. Since the county was unable to meet the deadline, it received a six-month extension from the state, Ms. Tavano said.
The unit is anticipated to be finished by July 2018.