California Department of Mental Health

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Our Mission

The mission of Vacaville Psychiatric Program is to provide quality mental health evaluation and treatment to inmate-patients. This is accomplished in a safe and therapeutic environment, and as part of a continuum of care.

Values

  • TEAMWORK: We promote collaborative partnerships with all disciplines involved in providing care to inmate-patients. We work as a team and foster open communication, recognizing individual contribution, with high regard to professionalism, toward achieving a common goal of quality and excellence in the delivery of services.

  • INNOVATION: The Program recognizes the benefits of maintaining a dynamic working environment that fosters creativity and innovation. New ideas and novel concepts are encouraged as potential solutions to problems and alternatives to traditional modes of operation. While creativity is a catalyst for positive change, deliberative planning is a mandatory prerequisite. Inherent in this process is the concurrent development of valid and reliable efficacy measurements.

  • PROFESSIONALISM: All staff will maintain high standards of performance and behavior. All staff will maintain principles of mutual respect and act in ways that meet and exceed community standards for professional and ethical behavior.

  • DIGNITY AND RESPECT: The Program fosters an environment in which all individuals are treated with dignity and respect. This encompasses recognizing psychosocial, spiritual and cultural diversity, and provides for fair and equitable treatment of all individuals. Cultivating a collaborative relationship among clinical and custody staff based on mutual respect and shared goals is essential.

  • QUALITY: Through the process of continuous improvement we strive for quality in all aspects of the delivery of care and service. Customer requirements are consistently examined and individual responsibility and accountability promoted. We foster professional training, clinical research, and innovative programs which constitute the driving forces of the program.

  • SAFETY AND SECURITY: Maintaining safety and security is paramount in ensuring the success of our mission. Inmate-patients are provided care and treatment within a safe and secure environment with the understanding that the former cannot exist without the latter.

Vision

We will meet challenges in the provision of quality forensic patient care through professional training, clinical research, and innovative program development, evaluation, and improvement. We will apply principles of quality improvement and empower all individuals to identify opportunities to improve and participate in creating solutions.

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Philosophy

The Vacaville Psychiatric Program is committed to the pursuit of quality in providing assessment and treatment services to the mentally ill inmates in the California Department of Corrections. It is our belief that the right to psychiatric treatment services is inherent in the rights of prisoners, and that effective provision of these services benefits the individual patient, those associated with the patient, and society as a whole. Our program is a pioneer in the provision of acute and intermediate inpatient mental health services within a prison. We accept the many challenges of assuring quality mental health services while maintaining safety and security as ultimate priorities. We understand that we address the needs of a unique patient population, and that many forensic issues must be addressed in treatment and discharge planning. This requires a specialized treatment staff, an interdisciplinary approach, and a conceptual adherence to a systems theory of service delivery. We believe that these elements are epitomized in the bio-psycho-social rehabilitation model.

History and Description

The Vacaville Psychiatric Program was established in 1988 by the Department of Mental Health. It is located in Vacaville,CA, a community of approximately 91,000, nestled between rolling hills and strategically located between the major cities of San Francisco and Sacramento. The program operates a 150-bed licensed Acute Psychiatric inpatient hospital and a licensed 83-bed Intermediate/Day Treatment Program located inside the California Medical Facility. The program provides quality mental health evaluation and treatment to inmate/patients who are referred from prisons throughout the State of California.

Treatment Programs within the Psychiatric Program are as follows:

  • Acute Program: This program is a 24-hour program consisting of five treatment units. These units are specifically designed to provide a means of ongoing psychiatric assessment and treatment of acutely mentally ill inmate/patients within a highly structured and secure environment. The program operates within a 30-day to 60-day length of stay for CDC referred inmate/patients, and within a "10-day or less" length of stay for CMF emergency referred inmate/patients. The overall goal of the Acute Program is to assess and stabilize symptoms of presenting psychiatric illess. The primary goal of the Acute Program is to identify and provide a successful transition to the most appropriate level of care for the inmate/patient, i.e., Intermediate Treatment Program, the CMF Outpatient Psychiatric Program, Atascadero State Hospital, the general population, or parole. A particular emphasis is placed on diagnosis and evaluation, nursing assessment, rehabilitation therapy assessment, and observation by the entire disciplinary team. Diagnosis and evaluation are ongoing processes that continue throughout the inmate/patient's hospitalization.
  • Intermediate Treatment Program (ITP): This program is a 24-hour licensed program for inpatient intermediate care. The clinical program design and utilizes a collaborate approach to the treatment of the persistently mentally ill which, in conjunction with medical and psychiatric interventions, emphasizes development of the cognitive, social, and functional skills required for the inmate/patient to maximize potential for success in his post-discharge environment. The ITP further addresses the long-term care needs of the chronically mentally ill inmate. The ITP reserves referrals from the licensed Acute Psychiatric Program, California Medical Facility Outpatient Psychiatric Program, and other state prisons.

Substance abuse education and therapy, medication management training, relaxation training, relapse prevention, stress/anger management, ward government, rehabilitative therapies, and therapeutic community meetings teach invaluable problem solving skills. Pre-Release groups and Pre-Parole planning are available to inmate/patients with these needs.

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Other links:

Contact Information:

DMH Vacaville Psychiatric Program
P.O.Box 2297, Vacaville, CA 95696
Telephone: (707) 449-6597 or (707) 449-6504
Fax: (707) 453-7047

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