In today’s newscast:
Housing Matters to eliminate 20 shelter spots in Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz homelessness nonprofit Housing Matters is eliminating 20 shelter spaces amid ongoing budget constraints.
In a statement, Housing Matters CEO Phil Kramer said the capacity of the Rebele Family Shelter will decrease from 28 rooms to 18 rooms. The Recuperative Care Center will go from 30 to 20 beds.
The decision comes with a backdrop of dwindling funding to address homelessness at both the state and federal levels.
In April, Housing Matters ended public day services—including its mail room and hygiene services—at its Coral Street campus.
Monterey County launches program to ease strain on 911 system
Monterey County is launching a new program called 911 Nurse Navigation.
It’s a way to reduce strain on the county’s overburdened emergency line by sending less urgent 911 calls to so-called nurse navigators.
“We've been focused on trying to make sure that we send the right resources to people to actually meet their needs,” said Debra Hopgood, acting director of Monterey County Emergency Medical Services.
Recently, the county has seen unprecedented demand for emergency services.
“As people face healthcare challenges, people lose insurance, the EMS system becomes sort of a safety net for people,” Hopgood said.
She says some examples of 911 calls that might be funneled through the nurse navigation system are, “someone with a very minor injury—maybe, like, a laceration to their finger—someone who needs a refill for their medications and [isn't] able to reach their standard physician…those sort of cases.”
Still, if a patient requests an ambulance at any point while on the phone with a nurse navigator, one will be sent.
