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California plans to eliminate 600 state hospital jobs

December 8, 2011

As part of a plan to overhaul the state’s mental health system, officials proposed eliminating about 600 jobs from the state’s five mental hospitals which includes Atascadero State Hospital, according to a report released Wednesday.

The layoffs come as part of a plan to create the Department of State Hospitals to oversee the state hospital system, separating the system from the Department of Mental Health. The hospital system is facing a 120-million budget deficit

As part of the plan, new alarm systems will be added to four of the hospitals including Atascadero State Hospital.

In addition, if an enhanced treatment unit currently being implemented at Atascadero State Hospital is successful in reducing patient aggression, the model will be duplicated throughout the system. The pilot unit slated to open next week will house 12 of the systems most dangerous patients.


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This is awful. ASH is already understaffed, I know many people who work there that are being mandated 3-4 times a week. So they have 4 (or more), 9 hour shifts (hour lunch), then get forced overtime of 4-6 hours directly AFTER that shift. How do they expect these employees to properly care for the patients AND be cautious of their surroundings? It is a dangerous place, and I honestly would be scared to work in those conditions.


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The enhanced unit JUST opened in Oct(as at least that’s what I heard from a friend that works on it). so it really hasn’t been in place very long at all.


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From what I know from a friend on that unit, it is together but they have not gotten “the worst of the worst” in yet. They have a set of patients there now but the big time trouble won’t be in until after the new year.


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But, but, but how can there be any mental institutions? Liberals constantly rant about how Reagan closed them all down. Could it be possible they’re exaggerating?


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Maxieconfusion, I’ve never heard of that rant. Some libs might have complained that Reagan might have closed some down but I’ve never heard of that. You make it sound like this is common knowledge, we ‘constantly’ rant bla bla bla. You just can’t help yourself can you. You try so hard put us down no matter how stupid it makes you look. You heard it once, probably on Faux so you now it’s ‘constant’,,,talk about exaggerating.


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typo, do you actually read the stuff you write?

WTH does this have to do with the topic?

Lay off the special units and put the perps in prison making little rocks out of big rocks…


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Do you even read my posts or do you only read my posts? I was responding to Maxie, did you even notice that? So why didn’t you address your comment to him?


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Regardless of whom you are targeting personally, the topic remains the same…

I addressed you, because of the repeated outrageous comments you make…


“You just can’t help yourself can you. You try so hard put us down no matter how stupid it makes you look. You heard it once, probably on Faux so you now it’s ‘constant’,,,talk about exaggerating.”

Personal attack, and assumption…


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Well, I took “do you actually read the stuff you write” as a personal attack as well. I didn’t call you stupid, I said that what you say makes you look stupid. But I don’t usually like to even insinuate that anyone is stupid (unless they are a public figure) so I apologize for insinuating that you were stupid, I shouldn’t have said that.


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Accepted…


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Reagan did close a number of hospitals, though not all.


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Come on people, spew some facts and not just spit. You obviously have no clue about the hospital closures.


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How about you start with those facts.


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it is not a simple affair


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I must have forgotten about all that. But I stand my statement that I don’t hear libs ‘constantly’ ranting about this issue.


Thanks for the link. It reminded me that even back during the Reagan years of trickle down economics that the repubs were only out to help the big corps and didn’t care about the ‘little people’. Somethings never change, the repub politicians were disgusting then and they still are.


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I would hate to see people lose their jobs in times like this, this isn’t good, but what got us to this position is too many inmates that are truly nothing but trash and should have been excuted not coddled, there are truly mentally ill people in these hospitals that need care, and I feel that we should be taking care of that segment, but not the child molesters or the charlie mansons those should have been gone years ago.


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I need to know more about this to make a fair judgement.


“The layoffs come as part of a plan to create the Department of State Hospitals to oversee the state hospital system, separating the system from the Department of Mental Health”.


How is this going to save money? Will it make the staff even less safe than they already are or will it help them to be more safe? Maybe it’s a good thing, maybe not.


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Sounds like they are growing the gummint again! When there is a deficit, lay off the needed workers and install the overseers/Admistration (sounds typical) It’s called spend more and get less. Laying off 600 employees will only escalated the costs as the staff will all have to pick up the slack with overtime hours and overtime pay. In these instances, our inept gummint put’s on hiring freezes but allow unprecedented overtime like that nurse at the CMC that earned something like 3 times her annual salary!


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Wait!!!! That last paragraph about Atascadero program being used for patient agression. Well as a casual observer from the outside, I think it is FAILING!!!! Didn’t we just have two attacks last month? Also quite a few others this past year? Boy I sure would like to hear more about this program of theirs and if any of the above people mentioned were in this program.


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