Addressing a “Severe Shortage”: Senator Roth Seeks Crucial Investment in Mental Health Needs

May 10, 2018

(SACRAMENTO) – Today, Senator Richard D. Roth presented a pilot program that will help to alleviate a severe shortage of mental and behavioral health services in Inland Southern California.

Psychiatrists are in very short supply in Inland Southern California, which is a fast-growing, racially and ethnically diverse region of nearly 4.4 million people. Riverside County has roughly five psychiatrists per 100,000 people compared to the statewide average of roughly 14 psychiatrists.

“As the stigma attached to mental health care fades, people around the state are increasingly seeking help, but the access to that help is almost non-existent in Inland Southern California,” said Senator Richard D. Roth (D-Riverside). “To begin to address this problem, I am proposing a pilot program that expands the availability of mental health providers and access to mental health care through the use of technology.”

In partnership with the University of California, Riverside and Riverside County, the pilot program would:

  • Establish tele-psychiatry diagnosis and counseling treatment service to reach remote communities in need by deploying tele-medicine equipment to rural clinics and mobile clinics.
     
  • Establish psychiatry residency programs (in some cases accelerated psychiatry residency training programs) in remote, underserved areas of Riverside County.
     
  • Establish and conduct tele-medicine training in mental health diagnosis and treatment for nurse practitioners, social workers, and other providers at desert-based community clinics.

Senator Roth continued: “Riverside County has been chronically underserved for far too long and we must act now to address the growing gap between the increasing demand for help and the supply of mental health services. I believe this innovative program will be successful beyond expectations and could help to serve as a model to solve our mental health crisis statewide.”

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Senator Richard D. Roth represents the 31st State Senate District, which includes the communities of Corona, Eastvale, Jurupa Valley, March Air Reserve Base, Moreno Valley, Norco, Perris and Riverside. Prior to his election, he served for 32 years in the United States Air Force, retiring in 2007 in the grade of Major General.