David Ketelaar went to the Santa Maria City Council to ask for help.
As director of emergency services at Marian Regional Medical Center, he’s seen a growing number of patients with mental health needs and no local services that can offer emergency treatment.
The Sierra Land Group, which used to own the Marian West campus, heard Ketelaar’s pleas and later donated a building worth an estimated $2.7 million. The building is located at 505 Plaza Drive in Santa Maria.
It will, administrators say, fill an immediate and growing need for patients suffering from mental health issues. It’s a persistent and growing problem for which Santa Maria doesn’t have an adequate solution, Ketelaar said.
“Our problem, I think, in Santa Maria is we have very limited behavioral health services,” said Sue Andersen, Marian Regional Medical Center president and CEO.
The building will eventually be home to a full facility geared toward mental health treatment. But the immediate goal is to add what they call a behavioral crisis center, where patients can seek treatment for virtually any mental heath ailment, such as suicidal thoughts, post traumatic stress syndrome, or social phobias. That crisis center would be located in the new building.
“The patients deserve an environment that is not a chaotic emergency services environment,” Ketelaar said.
The hospital is still looking for funding to complete the project. Andersen estimated the total cost of the project could reach $10 million, but the immediate goal is more modest. To get the behavioral crisis center under way, Andersen said it would cost somewhere between $1.5 million and $3 million, depending on what kind of licenses the hospital applies for.
“There’s an increased need to provide those crisis services, and that’s what we’re trying to do,” Ketelaar said.
The hospital formally announced the donation of the building on Aug. 24 at a Vineyards and Vistas annual dinner at Presqu’ile Winery, where Andersen said they were able to raise $300,000.
Sierra Land Group CEO Dan Kaplan spoke to the 340 people in attendance.
“It seemed only fitting, after all this time, that we do something more to help the Santa Maria community and are happy to donate this building,” Kaplan said in a media release from Marian Regional Medical Center.
Andersen said that the new project still needs city support. She said the hospital is in contact with the city over the various licenses and permits it will need going forward.
Funding for the project also remains a question. Andersen said the hospital will fund the construction and renovation costs of the new facility with the hospital’s operating budget.
Highlight
• Culinary students from Allan Hancock College received a $10,000 endowment from Cracker Barrel. Both the college and the restaurant celebrated the award on Sept. 10 at Cracker Barrel’s new Santa Maria location at 905 East Betteravia Road.
Staff Writer William D’Urso wrote this week’s Biz Spotlight. Send ideas, news tips, and interesting tidbits to spotlight@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Sep 19-26, 2019.