The Health Care Agency is a regional provider, charged with protecting and promoting individual, family and community health through coordination of public and private sector resources. HCA's service environment is complex, with 180 different funding sources and over 200 State and Federal mandates. The mandates under which HCA operates require the County to provide for, or to regulate, certain health services. Many also carry specific requirements for staffing, operations, claiming and record-keeping.
Many of HCA's services are preventive in nature and therefore are not readily apparent to the public. Some examples of services include food protection, hazardous waste regulation, water quality monitoring and pollution prevention, mental health services, alcohol and drug abuse services, preventive health services for the aging, healthcare for incarcerated individuals, communicable disease control, child health and disability program, immunizations, public health field nursing and public health clinics.
Our ultimate client is the entire County population. While providing direct services to individual clients or patients, the Agencys primary focus is to protect and promote the health and safety of the community as a whole. As we know, Orange County is continuing to grow and become more diverse. Over the next decade, teens and older adults will become Orange Countys fastest growing population sub-groups. The Health Care Agency is continually planning in anticipation of these changes so that our services meet the needs of the community.
The Agencys ability to meet these needs will continue to include community collaboratives focused on creating a coordinated continuum of services. Examples of collaboratives where HCA plays a key role in meeting community needs are: the Childrens Services Coordination Committee, the Children and Families Commission (Proposition 10), the Continuum of Care System for the Homeless, the Orange County Health Needs Assessment Steering Committee and Community Partnership, the Tobacco Settlement Advisory Group, and the Emergency Medical Care Committee.
Adult Correctional Health Services (ACHS) provides medical, dental, nursing, infections control, health education and pharmaceutical services at a community standard of care to all adult inmates in the County's correctional facilities and contracts with hospitals for inpatient and specialty care. ACHS also provides mental health services including 24-hour emergency triage and crisis intervention, suicide prevention, treatment beds, individual and group therapy, and substance abuse counseling, medication assessment and discharge planning to all adult inmates in the County's five correctional facilities.
Juvenile Health Services (JHS) provides medical, nursing, dental and pharmaceutical services at a community standard of care for youth who reside in the Countys four residential facilities operated by County of Orange Probation (OC Probation) and Social Services Agency (SSA) departments and contracts with hospitals for inpatient and specialty care.
Adult Correctional Health Services (ACHS) provides medical, dental, nursing, infection control, health education and pharmaceutical services at a community standard of care to all adult inmates in the County's correctional facilities and contracts with hospitals for inpatient and specialty care.
ACHSprovides mental health services to inmates with mental illness in the County's five correctional facilities. ACHS places primary emphasis on the stabilization of severe mental disorders, suicide prevention and crisis intervention. Inmates are viewed in a holistic fashion with careful attention to the possible influence of physical problems on the inmate's psychiatric condition. TheACHS Team recognizes the importance of linking inmates to treatment resources after release from jail.
If a family member or friend is in custody at an Orange County jail facility, and you are uncertain whether we are aware of an important mental health condition, please contactACHS administration at 714-647-4164 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.to 5 p.m. If this is an urgent after-hours matter, please contact the ACHS triage desk at 714-647-6092.
Juvenile Health Services (JHS)is dedicated to providing quality health care services to youth within the County of Orange youth correctional and shelter facilities. Our mission is to provide healthcare with respect, compassion and integrity through a culture of teamwork and accountability.
JHS-a division of the Health Care Agencys Correctional Health Services, provides medical, nursing, dental and pharmaceutical services to youth housed inSocial Services Agency's (SSA's)Orangewood Children and Family Center, and OC Probation juvenile facilities. The three facilities are Juvenile Hall , Youth Guidance Center and Youth Leadership Academy.
The Orangewood Children and Family Centeris an emergency shelter home and is operated by SSA with juvenile court authority. OCFC uses a 21st century cognitive behavioral model to assist youth with social skills while at OCFC. JHS provides medical care screening for all youth brought to OCFC and provides continuing health care services while the child resides at OCFC.
JHSprovides Registered and Licensed Vocational Nursing staff at all facilities. Physician and nurse practitioner coverage is provided Monday-Friday and on an on-call basis. During the intake process, each youth is screened by a Registered Nurse and the level of on-going care needed and provided is established.
Medical services provided by JHS at OC Probation facilities are governed by standards and requirements as set forth by the State of California Board of State and Community Corrections through Title 15.
Orangewood Children and Family Center is governed by standards as set forth by Community Care Licensing, as a group home, through Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations. In collaboration with OC Probation and SSA, JHS is responsible for ensuring medical and dental services are provided to youth within these facilities.
In addition to the guidelines for juvenile housing and handling, Title 15 is very specific as to the health care services that are to be provided to youth, housed within juvenile facilities. The health care services provided by JHS meet Title 15 requirements are follow standards set forth by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care.
HCA operates under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with OC Probation and SSA. The roles and responsibilities of each department are specifically outlined in the MOUs, which are drafted to help ensure each youth receives healthcare as prescribed by law, established procedures and the community standard of care.