SAN FRANCISCO DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH WINS TWO AWARDS FROM NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES

San Francisco, CA - The San Francisco Department of Public Health received two 2024 Achievement Awards by the National Association of Counties for programs that are providing outstanding services to help improve access to behavioral health services in San Francisco. The Office of Coordinated Care (OCC) and the Bridge and Engagement Services Team (BEST) Neighborhoods received these awards. Since 1970, the awards have recognized outstanding county government programs and services.

"I'm so proud of the work our teams are doing to help San Franciscans access care and services," said Dr. Grant Colfax, Director of Health. "Our priority at DPH is to remove barriers and make it easy and appealing for people to receive the mental health and substance use treatment they need. We are honored that the National Association of Counties has recognized our efforts."

In 2023, OCC and BEST Neighborhoods helped connect thousands of people in San Francisco to substance use and mental health treatment.

"The Department of Public Health has taken significant steps to make treatment for both mental health and substance use disorders easier to access," said Dr. Hillary Kunins, Director of Behavioral Health Services. "From tripling our number of street teams to adding more than 70 intake hours/week in our treatment facilities, every strategy and initiative deployed by DPH is to drive us toward our ultimate goal of saving lives."

The Office of Coordinated Care helps people navigate and access mental health and substance use services across San Francisco's health system, connects them to care, and provides additional support to help priority populations stay engaged in their treatment. These priority populations include people leaving the hospital, people who received behavioral health crisis services, people leaving jail, people experiencing homelessness, people with severe behavioral health needs, and people served in shelters, navigation centers, and permanent supportive housing.

Access and navigation programs within OCC include the Behavioral Health Access Line, a 24/7 call center, and the Behavioral Health Access Center, a walk-in center for access to behavioral health services. In July 2023 the access center extended its hours to include weekend hours, operating 7 days/week. In 2023, more than 2,900 unique clients contacted the access line and center to be connected to services.

In addition to these access services, the OCC also provides support through various teams that work with clients on the ground. The Triage and Transitions Team receives referrals from partners, including hospitals, jails, crisis services, and more, where they then help clients get connected to care after an involuntary behavioral health hold (5150) or after contact with the Street Crisis Response Team. The Triage and Transitions Team connected more than 1,500 clients to the OCC in 2023. Other teams include the Shelter Behavioral Health Team, which served 433 unique clients in shelters and navigation centers from July-December 2023; the BEST Neighborhoods team, detailed below; BEST Care Management, which provided services to 441 clients leaving hospitals and jails; and PHACS Behavioral Health, part of an inter-department team that provides behavioral health services to people in permanent supportive housing and served 860 unique clients in 2023.

"This past year has been a time of growth for the Office of Coordinated Care," said Heather Weisbrod, Director of OCC. "We've expanded our hours and launched more teams working directly with clients to eliminate barriers to treatment. We're looking forward to building on our success and continuing to deliver innovative services to our clients."

BEST Neighborhoods provides support to people experiencing long-term homelessness who need more support to engage in care. They work with people who have been experiencing challenging mental health and substance use disorders for decades, connecting the most vulnerable individuals to ongoing care and treatment.

Launched in March 2023, the team helped lower the barrier for access and connect 1,100 people to substance use treatment, mental health services, and medical care. The program began with three teams dedicated to different neighborhoods: one focused on the Tenderloin/SoMa, one focused on the Castro/Mission, and one city-wide team that services people in the Bayview, Haight, and other neighborhoods throughout San Francisco. In June 2024, a fourth team launched, focused on the Bayview and Ingleside neighborhoods.

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