SDC healthcare services would move elsewhere in County under latest plan

Sonoma Developmental Center residents would receive healthcare “close to home” from a state-funded health center expansion somewhere in Sonoma County, but likely not on the SDC campus, under a plan announced today.

With the center slated for closure by 2018, nearly 350 of the most medically fragile patients in the state system will transition into the community and require specialized healthcare services.

Senator Mike McGuire, Supervisor Susan Gorin and the State Department of Developmental Services will issue a Request For Proposal (RFP) by the end of this month to establish a healthcare hub in Sonoma County in a to-be-determined Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC).

“(We) had hoped to site the health center at the Sonoma Developmental Center,” Gorin said. “Although we are disappointed that model is not feasible, we are pleased that specialized services will be available to North Bay clients in the near future.”

The planned hub will serve the residents of the SDC and hundreds of other individuals with developmental disabilities within the Regional Center system.

“We know that this closure process has been extremely difficult to so many residents and their families over the past three years,” McGuire said. “Many have called the SDC home for decades and we have been working overtime to ensure the most medically fragile in the system receive quality healthcare close to home, now, and into the future.”

An initial $2.5 million in community placement plan funding has been secured for the North Bay Regional Center to develop a healthcare hub that will be embedded in a to-be-determined FQHC located in Sonoma County, McGuire said.

Senator McGuire said that he and Gorin have been committed to ensuring that the health and well-being of SDC residents will be the top priority during and after the transition and closure of the facility,

“This investment is so important,” McGuiresaid. “Not only will it keep health care, dental and mental health here in Sonoma County, we are creating a new health care home for hundreds of Californians who need specialized services to thrive.”

This is the first time the Department and Regional Center have partnered with a local community to fund a comprehensive healthcare hub with specialized services for individuals with developmental disabilities.

In addition to the new healthcare hub, working with Assemblymember Bill Dodd, Senator McGuire passed a new law this year that mandates monitoring and evaluating the transition of residents from Developmental Centers to the community. This new law created a much more robust tracking system, and as Developmental Centers close and any issues are discovered, immediate steps can be taken during this transition if appropriate services and housing are not being provided.

Senator McGuire will attend the Parent Hospital Association’s January meeting to provide more information and updates on the RFP, the $2.5 million and services that will be offered.