Department of State Hospitals - Patton

History

The Department of State Hospitals-Patton is a forensic psychiatric hospital located in Patton, CA, in San Bernardino County.  DSH-Patton was established in 1890 and opened in 1893. DSH-Patton provides treatment to forensically and civilly committed patients within a secure treatment area. The hospital does not accept voluntary admissions.

Patient Population

Hospital Staff

Approximately 2,380 employees work at DSH-Patton providing around-the-clock care, including psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, rehabilitation therapists, psychiatric technicians, registered nurses, registered dieticians and other clinical and administrative staff. There are approximately 349 different job classifications at the facility, including hospital police, kitchen staff, custodial staff, warehouse workers, groundskeepers, information technology staff, plant operations staff, spiritual leaders, and other clinical and administrative staff.

Treatment and Programs

The Trial Competency Program is for patients admitted to the hospital under Penal Code (PC) 1370 as Incompetent to Stand Trial. These patients receive a specialized program of treatment which is designed to specifically help the patient gain the knowledge and skills necessary to return to court. The goal is for the patient to understand court proceedings and effectively participate in their defense.

The focus of treatment for our Offenders with Mental Health Disorders (OMD) and Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGI) population emphasizes the potential for each patient to learn new skills and adaptive coping mechanisms to enhance the quality of the patient’s life at the hospital and prepare them for eventual transfer to Community Outpatient Treatment (C.O.T.). Other goals are to motivate patients for treatment, develop greater self-autonomy and independence, and the mastery of Activities of Daily Living (ADL) skills and self-discipline.

All treatment programs at DSH-Patton utilize the recovery philosophy offering a broad spectrum of treatment, while fully endorsing the hospital’s mission to provide comprehensive clinical services within the context of a biopsychosocial rehabilitation model within an environment of safety and security for all patients, staff and the community in an atmosphere of dignity and respect.

Accreditation

This facility is accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. The Joint Commission conducts unannounced surveys of this hospital at least every three years. The purpose of the survey is to evaluate the hospital’s compliance with nationally established Joint Commission standards. The survey results are used to determine whether accreditation should be awarded and under what conditions that happens. Joint Commission standards deal with organization quality, safety of care issues and the safety of the environment in which care is provided.

Community

Approximately half of Patton’s staff members live in the local cities of Highland, San Bernardino, Redlands and Colton. Other staff members reside largely within a 70 mile radius.  DSH-Patton partners with San Bernardino Valley College and Hacienda La Puente Adult Education. Through its psychiatric technician education program, the colleges have provided the hospital with hundreds of graduates over the course of many years. Similarly, a number of registered nurses, psychiatrists, physicians, psychologists, social workers, rehabilitation therapist and a wide range of other healthcare-related disciplines from area colleges have completed clinical rotations at our hospital.