MISSION VIEJO : Ward for Volatile Mental Patients OKd

Over the objections of nearby homeowners, a mental health hospital was granted a permit this week by the city Planning Commission to establish an involuntary-hold ward for people who have attempted suicide or are deemed dangerous to themselves or others.

Although they expressed reservations over Charter Hospital’s application, commissioners said the facility’s good track record in the community and the need for emergency mental health care in the area persuaded them to unanimously grant the permit.

“We should meet the needs of all our citizens,” Commissioner Sherrie Butterfield said. “If someone is dangerous to themselves and others, I would feel better if they were at Charter Hospital, rather than on the streets.”

Charter Hospital is a 90-bed facility on 5 acres inside a business park at 23228 Madero, near Los Alisos Boulevard.

The commission attached several conditions to its approval, including a reduction in beds for emergency patients from 18 to eight. Commissioners also called for the permit to be reviewed in a year.

The hospital must still receive approval from the county and the state, a process expected to take about six months, hospital officials said. Under state law, such a unit can hold patients for up to 72 hours.

Residents of the Ridgemont Community Assn. said the hospital is reneging on an earlier promise not to treat patients with serious mental disorders. They expressed concern over the hospital caring for emergency psychiatric cases near a residential neighborhood.

But Butterfield said that the hospital “seemed in the past to be a good neighbor” and that the city has received favorable reports from the Sheriff’s Department and several health care groups.