The county Board of Supervisors Tuesday unanimously approved $23.3 million to build an East Region Crisis Stabilization Unit, which will offer treatment services for those needing urgent mental health care.

Crisis stabilization units are “places that provide immediate mental health support and treatment services in a therapeutic setting to people with serious behavioral health needs who require urgent care beyond what an outpatient clinical service can provide,” according to the county.

“The new East County facility is part of our ongoing plan to build out a functional, effective ecosystem of care for San Diegans who have been left out to dry through decades of poor planning and disinvestment in our support systems,” Vice Chair Terra Lawson-Remer said in a statement.

According to information on the board meeting agenda, the money for the East Region CSU includes $10 million in Mental Health Services Act Capital Facilities funds, $9.8 million in opioid settlement money and $3.5 million in institutional care hospital revenue.

Lawson-Remer said the facility will fill a critical care gap, where some ZIP codes have rates of mental health emergency calls in excess of 400 encounters per 10,000 people per year.

Appropriate care can de-escalate a patient’s distress level, prevent or treat a behavioral health crisis or reduce acute mental health condition symptoms, Lawson-Remer said. CSUs can also help those dealing also with a substance use disorder, she added.

While no exact location for the new East Region CSU was made available, “the Healthy Places Index identified El Cajon as an area of high need where additional health and social resources might positively impact the community,” according to information on the Tuesday meeting agenda.          

“Additionally, Department of Health Care Services data from June 2023 indicates El Cajon has a relatively high volume of Medi-Cal customers and a high density of current County Behavioral Health Services clients who would qualify for and can directly benefit from this type of facility in the East Region,” according to the county.

In a related action Tuesday, supervisors gave county officials permission to contract with Exodus Recovery to provide treatment at a 16-bed psychiatric health facility in North County, which the county and Tri-City Healthcare District will fund, Lawson-Remer’s office said.

Lawson-Remer said residents trust Exodus Recovery — which handles care at two North County Crisis Stabilization Units — as a partner.

“Adding this new location will provide an easy transition for them and the patients,” she said.