Outpatient Psychiatric Unit (OPU)

Thank you for your generosity

Thanks to our generous donors, Marian Regional Medical Center’s Outpatient Psychiatric Unit (OPU) has been open since September 2022. Since its inception, the OPU has provided essential individualized care for over 1,000 patients, a milestone that speaks volumes about the necessity and efficacy of this service in our community.

Fiscal Year 2024 Stewardship Report

The impact of your support extends beyond the walls of the OPU. By enabling us to treat and stabilize patients locally, we have significantly reduced the need for transfers out of the community, ensuring that on average, 63% of our patients remain close to their support networks. This achievement not only alleviates the strain on inpatient bed availability but also underscores the importance of accessible mental health care.

Your support has been the catalyst for change in a county where the disparity between the number of inpatient mental health beds and the needs of our population is profound. Thanks to your generosity, the OPU has emerged as a vital resource, offering expert care and stabilization for patients in acute mental health crises.

Your commitment to addressing the mental health care shortage in Santa Barbara County has made a tangible difference. As we look to the future and the continued development of behavioral health services, your role as foundational supporters cannot be overstated.

On behalf of the Marian Regional Medical Center and the lives you have touched, I extend our deepest gratitude for your invaluable support.

With sincere appreciation,

DIGNITY HEALTH BEHAVIORAL WELLNESS

Outpatient Psychiatric Unit (OPU)

For one in five people every single year, a behavioral health episode occurs, reaching across all socio-economic barriers. From a one-time mental health episode to ongoing behavioral health conditions, there has previously been a real deficiency in the psychiatric services found on the Central Coast. Despite opening eight new beds, we are still woefully short on the number of necessary acute psychiatric beds. To help our community, Marian Regional Medical Center opened its Outpatient Psychiatric Unit (OPU), enhancing the continuum of care for behavioral health services by bridging the gap between outpatient and inpatient care, thereby meeting the growing demand more effectively.

The OPU staff consists of specially trained psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, and expert support staff. The OPU team works intensely with patients, stabilizing them for over a day before safely discharging or transferring them. The OPU has reduced the impact of inpatient bed shortages, with 63% of patients not requiring a transfer out of the community. emergency

Helping stabilize patients in crisis

Mission and providing a healing environment

Nearly 1 in 5 people will suffer psychiatric symptoms in a given year, and would benefit from receiving treatment

The Outpatient Psychiatric Unit is an integral part of the behavioral health service continuum, whose mission is to heal, comfort, and promote mental and emotional health for our patients. The purpose of this eight-bed unit is to provide our patients with urgent psychiatric evaluation and treatment

in a therapeutic environment conducive to wellness and recovery. This unit serves to avoid the more confined structure of a standard emergency department and to offer an open design that allows patients to move about freely, helping reduce stress.

Behavioral health patient arrives at Emergency Department Medically clear patient

31 hours is the average time a patient spends at the OPU

57

of OPU patients are voluntary

More than

1,013 patients helped at OPU as of February 2024

After OPU treatment, patient is released with a treatment plan

After OPU treatment, a patient who needs a higher level of specialized care is transferred to a behavioral health inpatient facility Patient transferred to OPU Patient is treated in a calm and specialized environment

How the OPU benefits patients

More than 61,200 patients are seen annually (or 170 patients every day) at Marian’s Emergency Services Department (ED). Improvements in facilities will shorten ED wait times for behavioral health patients by facilitating a smooth, safe, and speedy transition from the ED to the OPU.

The establishment of the OPU has provided access to all members of the community, assisting families that lack the resources to address a mental health need. In an area that has one in five households living below the poverty line and nearly 40% of the patient population comprised of migrant farm workers, traveling out of the area for care is straining. With the OPU, Marian has been able to decrease the need for inpatient transfers outside of Northern Santa Barbara County, treating patients in a familiar area they call home.

Additionally, the OPU allows behavioral health experts to work promptly with those in need, rather than having patients spend extended periods in Marian’s Emergency Department, waiting to be transferred to a behavioral health inpatient bed out of the area.

of OPU patients are safely discharged to a lower level of care such as their home or outpatient services

OPU Patients’ Counties of Residence Served as of February 2024

Behavioral health continuum of care

The OPU has been able to decrease the community’s demand for costly inpatient mental health services while enhancing our patient utilization of local outpatient resources.

STRENGTHENING PREVENTION, EARLY DIAGNOSIS, AND PROMPT ACCESS TO EFFECTIVE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH TREATMENT

Marian Regional Medical Center is pleased to offer behavioral health services to address gaps in the prevention and treatment systems.

OUTPATIENT SERVICES

Community Partners:

• Primary Care Physicians—Serve as the first point of contact for mental health screenings and referrals. They play a critical role in the early identification of mental health issues and coordinate care with specialized providers.

• Local Psychiatrists—Provide expert psychiatric evaluations, medication management, and consultation services to support our clients’ mental health treatment plans.

• Local Therapists—Offer a range of therapeutic interventions, including individual, group, and family therapy to address specific mental health needs.

• Santa Barbara County Mental Health Services—Collaborates with us to expand access to mental health resources and services across the community.

MARIAN REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER’S OUTPATIENT PSYCHIATRIC UNIT (OPU)

The Outpatient Psychiatric Unit (OPU) plays a pivotal role in our continuum of care, offering targeted outpatient treatment for individuals with mental health conditions. This unit is staffed by a multidisciplinary team that provides high-quality, personalized care. The effectiveness of the OPU is enhanced by the diverse expertise of its staff, who work collaboratively to address the comprehensive needs of its patients.

• Care Team Composition—Psychiatrists, registered nurses, social workers, licensed psychiatric technicians (LPTs), unit clerks, and Marian staff and physicians.

INPATIENT CARE

For individuals requiring more intensive support, these services are offered out of the area:

• Inpatient Beds—Provide short-term stabilization for acute mental health crises in a safe and therapeutic environment.

• Out of County Inpatient Beds—When local capacity is exceeded, we facilitate access to inpatient care in neighboring counties.

• Crisis Residential Beds—Offer longer-term residential care for individuals in crisis, focusing on recovery and the transition to community living.

DONOR IMPACT

497 Total Donors

2,184 Total Gifts

$3,612,943 Designated to Behavioral Health Services