Sutter Health Awarded Proposition 1 Funding to Expand Behavioral Health Services Across Northern California
Funding supports the expansion of mental health infrastructure at Sutter Coast Hospital and Sutter Center for Psychiatry, increasing access to care for underserved communities
Northern California, May 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Building upon its commitment to expanding access to timely, high-quality mental health care, not-for-profit Sutter Health today announced it has been awarded $23 million through California's Proposition 1 Bond Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program (Bond BHCIP) Round 1: Launch Ready initiative. The funding, announced by Governor Gavin Newsom, is part of a historic $3.3 billion investment in behavioral health infrastructure, supporting 124 projects statewide.
Sutter's Bond BHCIP grant funding will support two major mental health infrastructure projects: the expansion of Sutter Center for Psychiatry in Sacramento County and the construction of a new Emergency Psychiatric Assessment, Treatment, and Healing (EmPATH) unit at Sutter Coast Hospital in Del Norte County. These projects are part of a larger effort by Sutter to expand inpatient and outpatient mental health capacity, strengthen care coordination, and improve access for underserved communities. In addition to Bond BHCIP funding, Sutter is investing $27.6 million of its own capital to expand Partial Hospitalization Programs (PHP), Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOP), and other behavioral health services across Northern California.
'At Sutter Health, we are focused on expanding access to innovative, high-quality care in every community we serve,' said Warner Thomas, Sutter Health president and CEO. 'Bond BHCIP funding supports our mission by helping us strengthen mental health infrastructure and bringing timelier, coordinated behavioral health services to people who need them most. This investment aligns with our commitment to expanding mental health access and meeting the growing needs of patients and families across Northern California.'
Why It Matters
Treatment gaps persist – Nearly one in seven California adults experiences a mental health illness, yet roughly two-thirds of those individuals do not receive the needed care, according to a 2022 report by the California Health Care Foundation.
Severe bed shortage – California has just 19.5 acute psychiatric beds per 100,000 adults, far below the 50 beds per 100,000 estimated to meet the statewide need.
Proven crisis-care model – EmPATH units like the one at Sutter Coast Hospital have been shown to cut Emergency Department psychiatric wait times from 10 hours to 2 hours – an 80% reduction in boarding time.
'Bond BHCIP funding and Sutter's investments allows us to better meet patients at one of the most vulnerable moments in their health journey, with services designed to stabilize, support, and guide them to the next step in care,' said Matt White, M.D., Chair of Sutter Health's Behavioral Health Service Line. 'It allows us to expand critical programs and facilities so more people in crisis can get timely, appropriate treatment without unnecessary delays.'
Sutter has a long-standing foundation in mental health care, with five inpatient centers and eight outpatient programs across Northern California.
Expanding Behavioral Health Services Across Key Regions
The two Sutter Health projects that were awarded Proposition 1 funding will increase access to behavioral health care for individuals and families, particularly in underserved communities.
1. Sacramento County
Sutter Center for Psychiatry (SCP): Funding supports the addition of a 13-bed inpatient psychiatric unit, increasing SCP's total capacity to 84 beds. This expansion helps address Northern California's shortage of inpatient beds, improves transitions in care, and enhances support for patients with thought disorders, mood disorders, substance use disorders, and co-occurring conditions – with a focus on people from underserved populations.
2. Del Norte County
Sutter Coast Hospital: Funding offsets construction costs for a new 3,000-square-foot EmPATH unit already under construction. This facility is designed to provide immediate care for individuals in acute psychiatric crisis, reduce the strain on emergency departments, and create a more calming, patient-centered care environment. The EmPATH model has been nationally recognized for reducing wait times and improving outcomes.
'Bond BHCIP represents a critical step forward in California's commitment to behavioral health care, and Sutter Health is proud to align with the state's vision for expanding access and strengthening services across the region,' said Grace Davis, senior vice president and Sutter Health's chief external affairs officer. 'By supporting initiatives like Bond BHCIP, we can continue to enhance care for underserved communities and create lasting, positive change for those in need.'
Larger Strategy to Expand Access to Mental Health Services
These new investments will help open more than 10,000 patient visits annually.
Beyond these two projects receiving Bond BHCIP funding, Sutter is investing in projects, tools, and partnerships as part of an ongoing effort to expand access to mental health care and strengthen behavioral health services in 2025 and beyond. This includes a broader outpatient (ambulatory) expansion strategy using a Collaborative Care Model to bring mental health specialists into primary care clinics, making it easier for people to get timely support. A new partnership with Concert Health is helping grow this model, especially in rural areas.
Bay Area
In the East Bay, Sutter is investing $14 million to establish its first outpatient specialty behavioral health clinic and to expand existing PHP and IOP programs at Sutter's Alta Bates Summit Medical Center. The clinic is planned for the 5th floor of Alta Bates Summit's Herrick Campus located at 2001 Dwight Way in Berkeley. The new clinic will have more than 7,000 square feet of dedicated space, including three group therapy rooms and eight outpatient clinic offices. The expansion will allow for an estimated 6,000 additional patient visits annually.
In San Francisco, Sutter is investing $13.6 million to open a new outpatient mental health clinic and PHP/IOP program next to California Pacific Medical Center's (CPMC) Psychiatric Residency Program. Located at 601 Duboce Avenue on CPMC's Davies Campus, the 8,533-square-foot space will include two PHP/IOP group rooms and four outpatient clinic offices, growing capacity for an estimated 4,300 more patient visits annually.
Central Valley
Sutter has expanded behavioral health services in California's Central Valley, specifically in Lodi, Turlock, and Modesto, providing more opportunities for people to get care closer to home. In Lodi, new services were added in January at 311 South Ham Lane, offering integrated care to address both physical and mental health needs. That same month, a new location opened in Turlock at 1000 Delbon Avenue, expanding access to psychiatry services and therapy. In Modesto, behavioral health professionals and family medicine doctors now work together in a reimagined space at 600 Coffee Road, providing a comprehensive approach to physical and mental health services in one place. Sutter plans on making additional investments to grow behavioral health access in the region.
Impact By the Numbers
Sutter's emergency psychiatric response programs are also helping reduce the strain of patients experiencing psychiatric emergencies on the 21 Sutter emergency departments across Northern California.
Since 2024, these efforts have led to a 4.1% overall reduction in emergency room wait times, including a 10.1% decrease for patients needing inpatient psychiatric care—allowing clinicians to prioritize people with the most urgent medical and mental health needs.
Sutter is adding more clinicians to both expand behavioral health services and provide more timely access to mental health and addiction care.
Last year, Sutter grew its behavioral health team by 41.5%, adding 49 clinicians for a total of 167 providers, including psychiatrists, therapists, psychologists, and psychiatric advanced practice clinicians.
For more information on Sutter Health's behavioral health services, click here.
About Sutter Health
Sutter Health is a not-for-profit health care system dedicated to providing comprehensive care throughout California. Committed to community partnerships and innovative, high-quality patient care, Sutter Health is pursuing a bold new plan to reach more people and make excellent health care more connected and accessible. Sutter Health currently serves nearly 3.5 million patients, thanks to a dedicated team of more than 57,000 employees and clinicians and 12,000+ affiliated physicians, with a unified focus on expanding care to serve more patients.
Sutter delivers exceptional and affordable care through its hospitals, medical groups, ambulatory surgery centers, urgent care clinics, telehealth, home health, and hospice services. Dedicated to transforming health care, at Sutter Health, getting better never stops.
Learn more about how Sutter Health is transforming health care at sutterhealth.org and vitals.sutterhealth.org.
About BHCIP
BHCIP is administered by the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) and supports the development of new or expanded behavioral health facilities across the state. Through BHCIP, DHCS has competitively awarded grants to construct, acquire, and expand properties and invest in mobile crisis infrastructure for behavioral health. Proposition 1, passed in March 2024, increases funding opportunities to expand BHCIP to serve even more Californians with mental health and substance use disorders through infrastructure development. For information on Bond BHCIP, visit the BHCIP webpage.
CONTACT: Ashley Boarman Sutter Health 1 (800) 428-7377 ashley.boarman@sutterhealth.org
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