REPORT TO SHASTA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

BOARD MEETING DATE:  February  27, 2018
CATEGORY:  Consent - Health and Human Services-9.

SUBJECT:

Agreement with South Coast Health & Wellness Corp DBA Community Care on Palm

Supervisorial District No. :  All

DEPARTMENT CONTACT:  Dean True, Branch Director, HHSA Adult Services, (530) 225-5900

STAFF REPORT APPROVED BY:  Dean True, Branch Director, HHSA Adult Services

RECOMMENDATION

Approve and authorize the Chairman to sign a retroactive agreement with South Coast Health & Wellness Corporation DBA Community Care on Palm in an amount not to exceed $300,000 to provide skilled nursing care from October 4, 2017 through June 30, 2020.

SUMMARY

This proposed agreement will allow South Coast Health & Wellness Corporation DBA Community Care on Palm (CCOP) to provide long-term residential treatment for adults with severe and persistent mental illness as an alternative to placement in an acute inpatient care setting or a state hospital. 

DISCUSSION

CCOP, located in Riverside, CA, provides 24-hour residential care to residents who suffer from acute or chronic medical conditions, and are severely and persistently mentally ill. Residential placement options for severely mentally ill individuals, especially those who need ongoing medical care, are limited.  State psychiatric hospitals and Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF), such as CCOP, are among the few options.  SNF’s offer advantages to both the individual and to the County over placement in a State psychiatric hospital.

SNF’s are less restrictive environments for residential placement, and allow County staff to work collaboratively on individualized treatment planning designed to reintegrate the individual into the community when possible.  In addition to collaborative client care, the cost to the County is considerably less than placement in state hospitals. Every attempt is made to keep clients in Shasta County, but occasionally it is necessary to place individuals in an out-of-county treatment facility that can best meet their needs.

The proposed agreement will also authorize the Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) Director, or any HHSA Branch Director designated by the HHSA Director, to approve, in writing and in advance, any annual changes in CCOP ’s rates of compensation provided that an increase in any single rate shall not exceed 10 percent, per fiscal year, over the original rate during the entire term of this agreement and provided further that the rate increase(s) shall not increase the total compensation payable under this agreement.

This agreement is retroactive due to the necessity of placing a client with the vendor on an emergency basis in order to comply with regulatory mandates that require placement at the least restrictive level of care.

ALTERNATIVES

The Board could choose not to approve the agreement or to approve with modified terms.

OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT

County Counsel has approved the agreement as to form.  Risk Management has approved the agreement.  This recommendation has been reviewed by the County Administrative Office.

FINANCING

The maximum amount payable under the proposed agreement to Community Care on Palm is $100,000 per County fiscal year beginning 2017/18 to 2019/20 for bed rates, plus additional costs for psychologist visits (patch rates) for a total of $300,000. Costs are on a fee-for-service basis and only incurred when a Shasta County resident receives SNF services at Community Care on Palm.  All residential SNF services are excluded from Medi-Cal reimbursement and, therefore all costs incurred through these contracts are funded entirely through department discretionary revenues.  Because the statutorily required County General Fund Maintenance of Effort to Mental Health is set at $266,778, the majority of this cost is borne by Mental Health Realignment. There is no additional General Fund impact with approval of the recommendation.