Plans Formulated for Mental Health Center Expansion : Social services: Completion of the $5-million project is expected by 1993. It would serve up to 44 people.

Ventura County’s crowded mental health center, where patients sometimes sleep in hallways, will be expanded under a plan set into motion Wednesday by health officials.

Expansion of the inpatient facility next to the Ventura County Medical Center in Ventura is expected to be completed by 1993, increasing the mental facility’s capacity from 28 beds to 44.

Members of county mental health services, advocates for the mentally ill and several architects met Wednesday morning to begin formulating the schematic design of the project, which will cost about $5 million.

Last year, the County Board of Supervisors approved funding for the facility after repeated complaints from mental health officials, who said they did not have enough space.

“It has been a long time coming,” said Randy Feltman, director of mental health services. “We are very pleased.”

According to preliminary plans, the hospital will be more secure to better accommodate children, acutely ill adults and other patients who require additional supervision.

Hospital staff now say they have trouble treating difficult cases because of the building’s design.

Deborah Pentland, supervisor of the center, said the facility has seven doors and many windows that slide open--making it easy for patients to leave.

“If a client has a substance abuse problem, they can just walk to a liquor store,” Pentland said.

She said neighbors often call to report that they’ve seen patients in pajamas wandering the streets. Between two and eight patients leave the facility each month, Pentland said.

Also, Feltman said, officials sometimes have to turn away less-ill clients because of a lack of space.

Although the facility has capacity for 28 patients, officials often admit up to 32.

“We won’t turn away someone who is acutely in danger to themselves; that’s why we often go over our census,” Feltman said. “We are the backstop for the entire county. If someone needs treatment and they can’t pay, they come to our hospital. It makes it very difficult.”

Occasionally during the 1980s, Feltman said, more than 50 patients were admitted to the center, prompting criticism from state regulators.

“We had people in the hallways,” he said. “We were overwhelmed.”

Henry Settle, a member of the Ventura County Alliance for the Mentally Ill, said he is pleased that expansion plans are moving forward, but said he is concerned that by the time the facility is completed, it will not be large enough.

“That could be a real problem,” he said.

But Feltman said he believes that the 44-bed capacity should be adequate at least for the next five years. He said recently that the county implemented several outpatient programs, cutting down on the number of mentally ill people who need hospitalization.

“It should serve our needs,” Feltman said.

Mental health officials are expected to meet next month to discuss the project. Construction is expected to start in August, 1992.