California Department of State Hospitals | |
Geography | |
---|---|
Location | Atascadero, California, United States |
Organization | |
Care system | Psychiatric ward |
Type | Forensic psychiatry |
Services | |
Emergency department | Department of State Hospitals- Atascadero Police Department (DSHAPD, ASHPD, or DPS) |
Beds | 1239 |
History | |
Opened | 1954 |
Links | |
Website | Official website |
Lists | Hospitals in California |
Atascadero State Hospital, formally known as California Department of State Hospitals - Atascadero (DSHA), is located on the Central Coast of California, in San Luis Obispo County, halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. DSHA is an all-male, maximum-security facility, forensic institution that houses mentally ill convicts who have been committed to psychiatric facilities by California's courts.[1] Located on a 700+ acre grounds in the city of Atascadero, California, it is the largest employer in that town.[2] DSHA is not a general purpose public hospital, and the only patients admitted are those that are referred to the hospital by the Superior Court, Board of Prison Terms, or the Department of Corrections.