When an organization sets its goals to meet higher standards than is required by licensing agencies, payer sources, community stakeholders and industry standards, and then goes on to achieve those goals, it is an extraordinary accomplishment. Crestwood Behavioral Health, Inc. is proud once again to have achieved just that accomplishment. In August 2024, Crestwood received the highest-level Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities’ (CARF) Three-Year Accreditation of our behavioral health programs and our Shoreline and Sacramento Home Offices. This accreditation shows an organization’s substantial conformance to the CARF standard and that it has put itself through a rigorous peer review process. It has demonstrated to a team of surveyors during an onsite visit its commitment to offering programs and services that are measurable, accountable, and of the highest quality. A huge Thank You and Congratulations to our Crestwood Family!! In August, our organization came together as a mighty team to support the CARF survey process. We successfully completed this CARF survey because of our staff’s dedication and commitment to the CARF process. During the exit of our survey, Staci L. Nevels, lead CARF Surveyor, said that the surveyors were so impressed and inspired by our campuses, staff, persons served and programs and Crestwood was an organization that will be easy to remember. When we hear comments like that from someone outside of our organization, it reaffirms that the work we are doing and the services we provide are truly making a difference in people’s lives. This is all made possible by the dedication, compassion and hard work of our extraordinary staff who are the heart of Crestwood!! Crestwood was recognized for many of our accomplishments during the survey. The CARF surveyors found that Crestwood demonstrated the following strengths: Crestwood’s mission states that the organization invests its energies to enhance the quality of life, social integration, community support and empowerment of persons served with mental health issues. Although a very large organization with multiple sites and programs, Crestwood has consistently well-organized and appealing campuses. Crestwood’s Equity Diversity and Inclusion Team (EDIT) is recognized for strengthening equity, diversity and inclusion in the workplace. The organization’s leadership is actively involved in daily operations, communicating a sense of shared responsibility and responsiveness. The organization’s dedication to and utilization of Dreamcatchers Empowerment Network is inspiring. The leadership clearly advocates for the direct service providers and the persons served and has made efforts to create a positive work/service environment. There is a great team of professionals across many disciplines who make up the teams at Crestwood. The teams that provide the services show support and unconditional acceptance of all persons served in the program. The wellness of the employees and persons served is front and center in their daily routines. The staff members work closely with persons served to ensure that skills and preferences are recognized and used. The persons served bragged about how the program has helped them in so many ways. The Eureka programs are legacy campuses for Crestwood. Persons served at the Eureka programs reported high satisfaction with the services. Crestwood’s Central California campuses (Fresno, Kingsburg, and Bakersfield) have environments that reflect the importance of serving every person who walks through the door. The results of our 8th CARF survey exemplify the commitment, dedication and character of our staff to the CARF standards and the quality of recovery services that are provided every single day for our persons served!

Crestwood is excited to announce that we have expanded our services with the introduction of the Crestwood Santa Barbara County Access Line , a new program that is a part of our Santa Barbara CSS program. We officially assumed operations of the Access Line on November 15th at 8:00 pm . Phillip Jones will serve as the Campus Administrator for both the Santa Barbara County Access Line and the Santa Barbara CSS. Due to the need to be centrally located in the county, the Access Line uses office space at our Champion Healing Center campus at 303 S. C Street, Room 126, in Lompoc .  The Access Line is a part of our integrated crisis services in Santa Barbara County that will soon include the upcoming launch of our Mobile Response Services on December 1st. The 24/7 Access Line can be reached at (888) 868-1649 . This toll-free number provides immediate support for individuals in crisis, offering mobile response services and connecting callers to mental health and substance use treatment options. The goal of the Access Line is to streamline access to care, provide crisis intervention, and ensure individuals are connected to appropriate services and resources.

As part of our Santa Barbara CSS campus’ expanding services in Santa Barbara County, Crestwood is excited to announce that Crestwood assumed operations of the Santa Barbara County Mobile Crisis Team (MCT) on December 1. The MCT is a part of our integrated crisis services in Santa Barbara County that includes the Access Line and CSS.  The MCT works with the Access Line Specialists who deploy the team when crisis intervention, de-escalation and stabilization services are needed for individuals who are in crisis and are at risk of hurting themselves or someone else or are unable to provide basic care for themselves due to a suspected mental health issue.  Phillip Jones serves as the Campus Administrator for the Santa Barbara CSS, the Access Line and now the Santa Barbara County MCT.  The MCT staff joins the Access Line staff in using office space located at our Champion Healing Center campus at 303 S. C Street, Room 126, in Lompoc .  Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the development of this important service. Your dedication, support and collaboration make a significant impact on the lives of those we serve in the community. Welcome Santa Barbara County Mobile Crisis Team to our Crestwood family!

We are excited to announce that the Crestwood Ponderosa Healing House is officially open! The Ponderosa Healing House is funded through a partnership with San Mateo County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services and is part of the redesigned Cordilleras Health and Healing Campus. This campus consists of four independently operated, 16-bed MHRCs, each with a focus on providing specialized services to meet the different needs of individuals from San Mateo County with mental health issues. The Ponderosa Healing House focuses on serving individuals who are medically complex with challenges such as hard to control diabetes, mobility issues and other conditions that require more nursing support than a typical MHRC. The program is located at 280 Edmonds Road, Bldg B in Redwood City.

We are excited to announce that the San Francisco Geary Stabilization Unit (SU), located at 822 Geary Street, officially opened on April 28th! The Geary SU is a Crisis Stabilization Unit that was made possible through a partnership with the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) and San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie’s Office. The Geary SU is part of Mayor Lurie’s “Breaking the Cycle” plan to tackle San Francisco’s homelessness and behavioral health crisis. The Geary SU is certified to serve 16 adult clients and is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The program provides immediate care for people in the local community who are experiencing a behavioral health crisis. Persons served are provided with comprehensive mental health services and support for up to 23 hours. They are then referred to mental health services in the community that will best meet their needs so they may continue their recovery journey. The program will provide a safe and effective alternative to hospital emergency departments for first responders, street teams, and members of law enforcement connecting people in crisis to urgent care, while allowing those frontline workers to get back on the streets more quickly. Tour the Geary Stabilization Unit San Francisco Geary Stabilization Unit Ribbon Cutting Event On April 24, a Ribbon Cutting event was held to introduce the Geary SU program to the community, media, and city officials. The event kicked off at 9:15 am and featured speakers that included Mayor Daniel Lurie; Dan Tsai, Department of Public Health Director; Carla Short, Department of Public Works Director; Patty Blum, Crestwood COO; members from the San Francisco Board of Supervisors; Captains from the San Francisco Police and Fire Departments; and members of the San Francisco Street Homelessness Response Team. More than 60 people attended the event and toured the campus to experience Crestwood’s beautiful homelike and healing Trauma-Informed environment first-hand. Members of our Crestwood Executive Leadership Team attended the event, (George Lytal, CEO; Derek Dobbins, President; Maria Stefanou, CFO/EVP; and Patty Blum, COO/EVP), along with members from our Start-Up and Home Office Teams.