From San Diego County News Center. By Yvette Urrea Moe

SAN DIEGO, Calif., – July 23, 2025 - County Probation has created a new integrated Healthcare Services unit with the goal of enhancing the care and support given to youth in detention facilities and both youth and adult clients under Probation supervision. To that end, a new medical director and a healthcare operations manager have joined the Probation team.

“The establishment of this unit is important because it will help address disparities in healthcare and improve health outcomes for our clients after their release,” said Tamika Nelson, Chief Probation Officer. “The money saved will be directed toward enhancing other programs and services Probation provides for our clients to help them successfully transition back into the community.”

Probation hired Dr. Lou Gilleran, Probation’s medical director, to oversee all healthcare services including physical and behavioral health in December. He is a retired U.S. Navy Medical Officer with 27 years of military service and has since worked in several key roles in the County including the Medical Director for the Emergency Homeless Shelter at the San Diego Convention Center during COVID, TB Clinic and as Chief Medical Officer for the San Diego Sheriff’s Office.

To help him with this major and critical task is Michael Kelley, MSN in the new position as Healthcare Operations Manager, who has extensive experience in quality assurance…

They are leading the rollout of Justice-Involved CalAIM, a state initiative that will transform Medi-Cal in youth detention centers which is set to begin later this year, Gilleran said. The department is piloting new pre-release services. The way it will work is that Probation will receive reimbursement for youth care for 90 days before they are released. Currently, youth who have medical insurance and are booked into a correctional facility are automatically suspended from any Medi-Cal reimbursement for medical or behavioral care as per federal law. Now, those services will be funded.

Kelley said they have applied for Probation to have a special clinic designation that will allow them to bill the state for medical services, case management, laboratory tests, durable medical equipment, and medications. They also established a contract with a single contract provider in the detention facilities which offers both physical and behavioral health services which will improve communication and services.

This then gives the Integrated Healthcare Services Unit better oversight, enabling seamless services, Gilleran said. When a young person is booked, they will have a whole person assessment which will be included in their re-entry plan, he said.

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“Another really big benefit is the warm handoff for our youth before release to ensure they receive continued care,” Kelley said.

Gilleran added, “The benefits of CalAim is that now we’ll be bringing in revenue that allows us to put money into other programs that addresses pro-social, pro-health, cognitive, and behavioral issues and can potentially be put into vocational training.”

One of the vocational training programs offered to youth is music production, which requires a studio to learn how to mix and edit sound and music. “One example of putting money into other programs is building a music studio,” Kelley said.

San Diego County Probation is committed to delivering high-quality services that drive improved outcomes for the youth and adults they serve.

Read the article here.