September 3, 2026
Following are this week’s updates. If you have questions, please contact [email protected].
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Focus Group Sept. 24 Seeking Feedback on Inpatient Suicide Assessment & Admissions Workflow
CalMHSA will host a focus group Sept. 24 to gather county feedback on inpatient suicide assessments and admissions workflows. As we explore an inpatient admissions packet to streamline the admissions process with key documentation in one place, feedback will help to increase understanding of current practices and priorities before development begins.
The focus group will take place Sept. 24 at 2 p.m. (PT). Counties can sign up here.
The session will primarily focus on Psychiatric Health Facilities (PHFs) and inpatient treatment centers, though organizations with similar inpatient behavioral health workflows may also find it relevant.
Who should attend?
Medical directors, nursing managers, and clinical and operational leaders from crisis stabilization units, PHFs, treatment centers, inpatient psychiatric hospitals, and other overnight facilities using suicide assessments during admission are encouraged to attend.
What to bring?
Attendees are asked to come prepared with examples of their current suicide assessments, an overview of their admissions workflow, and any challenges or opportunities they see for improving the process.
New Scanned Document for Housing Status and Homelessness Screening
A new scanned document type, Housing Status and Homelessness Screening Tool (Scanned), will go live in production systems Sept. 4, giving counties a way to document the tool in SmartCare while the EHR team works to make it available as a full SmartCare form. Permissions will be granted to CalMHSA Sys Admin, County Affiliate Sys Admin, LPHA/Clinician, Non-LPHA, Reception/Front Desk, and Medical Records/Quality Assurance user roles, with read-only access granted to the Auditor/Read-Only role.
CalMHSA recently held a webinar on strategies and tools for capturing homelessness status, including guidance on using the Housing Status and Homelessness Screening Tool. More information is available on CalMHSA’s Housing Interventions web page.
Questions can be directed to [email protected].