Who
- Santa Cruz hospital discharge planners
- County of Santa Cruz representatives
- Homeless community-based organizations
- Local Medi-Cal managed care plan representatives
What
In early June, Hospital Council coordinated a meeting with the Santa Cruz County health and human services, the county behavioral health department, the Medi-Cal managed care plan (CCAH), homeless services providers, housing advocates, and the hospitals to discuss Senate Bill 1152 and discharge barriers. The purpose of the meeting was to get a better understanding of services in the community. As the COVID-19 funding ended, several shelters have closed or there’s been a decrease in services. It was a productive meeting that helped attendees gain clarity on the status of changes and future projects in data-sharing platforms that the county of Santa Cruz and its partners are trying to develop.
Takeaways
The outcome of our conversation is a commitment to an updated shelter list with phone numbers and referral requirements that will be updated annually and sent to the hospitals. In addition, the county is working on a new coordinated entry system that connects with SCCHIO — the electronic health records system. The county hopes to have the new referral by mid-August. The group will meet again toward the end of August.