Imperial County’s mental health care support could use a lot of help.
Their current slate of mental health professionals is too sparse to adequately meet the needs of the region, leading to potential treatment gaps.
On Tuesday, UC San Diego announced an upcoming psychiatric residency program in Imperial County.
Imperial County has been federally designated a Health Professional Shortage Area for mental health services, meaning the county’s current slate of mental health professionals is unable to meet the population’s needs. The new residency program, set to start in 2026, aims to close gaps in care.
“We’re an isolated community. When you compare us to San Diego or Riverside, we are one of the smallest counties. This is why it’s difficult to recruit individuals and other providers,” said Leticia Plancarte-Garcia, director of Imperial County Behavioral Health Services.
According to Plancarte-Garcia, Imperial County Behavioral Health Services provides 95% of all mental health services in the county. In fiscal year 2023-2024, Behavioral Health Services served around 10,211 mental health clients, reaching only about 28% of the estimated need in the county.
In 2022, roughly 4,300 California deaths were due to suicide. Additionally, just under 28% of the California population lives in a community with limited mental health professionals. Plancarte-Garcia estimates the average California psychiatrist still takes on 300-350 cases because demand is so high in the state. Imperial County averages close to 400 cases per psychiatrist, according to Plancarte-Garcia.
The Imperial Valley residency program will train a total of 16 psychiatry residents over four years — four residents per year. This increase in psychiatrists will decrease the county’s dependency on telehealth visits. Recruitment for the program is expected to begin later this year.
“Putting residency programs in places where they don’t exist has been shown to grow the number of physicians who stay and practice there,” said Dr. Steve Koh, a professor of psychiatry at the UCSD School of Medicine and chief of clinical psychiatry at UCSD Health.
The program will be spearheaded by UCSD while working closely with Imperial County Behavioral Health Services to provide clinical and medical guidance to students.
Imperial County Behavioral Health Services provides equal care to anyone seeking mental health care and services regardless of age, race, ethnicity, religion or gender identity.
The program is designed to strengthen local mental health care and address the longstanding shortage of behavioral health professionals in the area.
“This program is not only an investment in future physicians, but a direct investment in the health and well-being of our community,” said Plancarte-Garcia.
In the United States, suicide is a leading cause of death and in 2023, 22.8% of people 18 years or older were reported as having some form of mental illness, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
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