San Diego, CA
County breaks ground on East County crisis center in El Cajon
Leaders gathered at what was once a county assessor’s office Thursday to break ground on East County’s first stand-alone crisis stabilization unit designed to provide up to 24 hours of respite for those with urgent mental health care needs.
When complete in 2025, the 14,000-square-foot, $28 million facility will be the county’s seventh such location. Existing units are already operating in Vista, Oceanside, Escondido, Chula Vista, Hillcrest and at the San Diego County Psychiatric Hospital.
Though their particulars vary slightly, all follow the same general model, offering multiple recliners in quiet rooms where people coping with severe symptoms of psychiatric distress can be evaluated by medical professionals for up to 24 hours.
The key feature of crisis-stabilization centers is their ability to divert patients, often picked up on “5150” holds, from the region’s busy emergency departments where they would otherwise be taken for evaluation. These holds are often performed by law enforcement officers when a person is thought to possibly be a danger to themselves or others or gravely disabled.
Thursday, and in other recent presentations, county officials have said that the two newest crisis centers in Vista and Oceanside have reduced local emergency visits for mental health care by 40 percent since 2022.
Supervisor Joel Anderson said during Thursday’s ground-breaking event that the El Cajon unit is expected to relieve pressure on the very-busy emergency department of Sharp Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa.
“I believe this is going to allow them to provide better care by not clogging their emergency room with things that we can do at this crisis stabilization unit,” Anderson said.
With an opening day anticipated in the fall of 2025, the new facility will include 16 recliners for patients. Services provided will include patient assessment, medication assistance, peer support and referral to outside services.
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