Department of State Hospitals (DSH)

DSH manages the nation’s largest inpatient forensic mental health hospital system. Its mission is to provide evaluation and treatment in a safe and responsible manner, seeking innovation and excellence in state hospital operations, across a continuum of care and settings. DSH is responsible for the daily care and provision of mental health treatment of its patients. In FY 2014-15, DSH served almost 13,000 patients and on average, the inpatient census was approximately 6,700 in a 24-hour-a-day, seven-days-a-week hospital system and approximately 600 outpatient census in its conditional release program. DSH oversees five state hospitals and three psychiatric programs located in state prisons, employing approximately 12,000 staff. Additionally, DSH provides services in jail-based competency treatment programs and conditional release programs throughout the 58 counties. DSH’s five state hospitals are DSH-Atascadero, DSH-Coalinga, DSH-Metropolitan, DSH-Napa and DSH-Patton. These five facilities encompass more than 6.6 million gross square feet of space on 2,600 acres of land. The three psychiatric programs are through an interagency agreement with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), treating inmates at prisons in Vacaville, Salinas Valley, and Stockton.

DSH physical plant is aged – DSH-Napa opened in 1875, DSH-Patton opened in 1893, DSH-Metro opened in 1916 and DSH-Atascadero opened in 1954. The only modern facility, DSH-Coalinga, opened in 2005. Much of the hospital infrastructure is more than 60 years old – with limited renovation since opening. Consequently, DSH has many capital improvement needs including seismic retrofits, security improvements, fire-life-safety upgrades, infrastructure replacement, and new construction projects. Despite these challenges, the Department continues to improve its environmental profile.

Since 2003, DSH has implemented several energy efficiency projects. The Department has replaced or upgraded lights, motors, boilers, cooling towers, and energy management systems in all hospitals. DSH has installed two solar photovoltaic (PV) systems at DSH-Patton – a two-megawatt (MW) system and a 250-kilowatt system. DSH has also installed a two MW solar PV system at DSH-Coalinga. In FY 2016-17, DSH will install a 1.5 MW PV system at DSH-Atascadero, a 1.0 MW PV system at DSH-Metropolitan and a 1.0 MW PV system at DSH-Napa. After completion of the solar projects, DSH facilities will be generating 7.75 megawatts of renewable energy.

In July 2009, DSH opened a new kitchen at DSH-Metropolitan that meets the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold standard. New kitchens at DSH-Napa and DSH-Patton have been designed to meet or exceed LEED silver certification.

These initiatives have improved DSH’s overall energy efficiency by 20 percent since 2003. These efforts have also contributed to an 18.7 percent decline in DSH greenhouse gas emissions – from 53,282 metric tons of carbon emissions (CO2e) in 2010 to 43,321 metric tons of CO2e in 2014. In 2015, DSH surpassed its goal of CO2e reduction by 8.7 percent (4,636 metric tons of CO2e).

Complementing the improving carbon footprint, DSH has aggressively reduced water consumption. Since 2010, DSH has decreased water use from 595,566,796 gallons per year to 336,676,466 gallons per year in 2014 – a 43.5 percent reduction. This savings represents enough water to sustain nearly 2,000 households.

DSH has strongly supported Executive Order B-16-12 by purchasing ten Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV), five plug-in-hybrids, and installing 28 electric vehicle-charging stations since 2013. DSH’s light duty vehicle purchases will be at least 20 percent BEV in the current year.

The Department of State Hospitals is making considerable progress toward achieving the requirements of Executive Orders B-18-12 and B-16-12, and is committed to the success of these efforts. In addition, DSH will continue to identify and prioritize opportunities for compliance with all sections listed herein ensuring fulfillment in obligating resources pursuant to additional funding.