Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Hilda L. Solis, Supervisor to the First District, today hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the Restorative Care Village Project at LAC+USC Medical Center in Boyle Heights – a first-in-the-nation mental health and well-being campus dedicated to meeting the needs of our most vulnerable residents. Once completed, the LAC+USC Restorative Care Village will provide access to a full continuum of clinical care and supportive services on one campus—including recuperative and respite housing, mental health care, substance use disorder treatment, permanent supportive housing, and other transitional and support services to enable patients to heal and safely reintegrate into the community.
“There is no question that the investments toward the Restorative Care Village at LAC+USC Medical Center in Boyle Heights are needed now more than ever,” said Chair Solis. “This project will have a significant impact in breaking the cycle of mental health illness, substance abuse, unemployment, incarceration, and homelessness – demonstrating our commitment to prioritizing the County’s ‘care first, jail last’ approach. Once completed, the Restorative Care Village will restore dignity to our communities and give our most vulnerable hope for a new beginning.”
The project includes the Recuperative Care Center (RCC), one building yielding 96 beds, and Residential Treatment Programs (RTP), four buildings yielding 64 beds. The RCC will provide clinically enriched interim housing with on-site nursing support, health oversight, case management, and connection to permanent housing to serve those who have been discharged from County health facilities and facing unstable housing conditions. The RTP will include intensive treatment programs for individuals being discharged from County hospital psychiatric emergency services, inpatient psychiatric units, and mental health urgent care centers. The project budget is estimated at $68,461,000 with funding coming from a California Health Facilities Financing Authority (CHFFA) grant and the Los Angeles County’s Departments of Health Services and Mental Health. The project is expected to be completed summer 2021.
“This ceremony represents a transformation of our Medical Center that recognizes that a hospital cannot keep a community healthy if it does not address the important drivers of health; housing, mental health, and economic and environmental justice,” said Jorge Orozco Chief Executive Officer of LAC + USC Medical Center.
The LAC+USC Restorative Care Village will consist of two inter-connected hubs, the Acute Care Hub and Wellness Hub, built in 3 phases. The complete build-out of the 3 phases will provide the full spectrum of care, allowing escalation and de-escalation as suits the patient’s current clinical and psychological conditions. Patients to be discharged from LAC+USC, but who lack a safe place to recover will be able to claim one of the RCC beds.
“A community’s public infrastructure has a tremendous effect on the health of its residents and their overall quality of life,” said Mark Pestrella, Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works. “The new LAC+USC Restorative Care Village will promote social equity, support the local economy and address both the mental and physical well-being of residents—both in Boyle Heights and across the communities of Los Angeles County.”
Central to this work has been the community’s contribution to the design and development of community benefits such as exceeding the required 30% local and target hire goal for the project to achieve closer to 50% made possible in collaboration with the Health Innovation Community Partnership.
“This is an exciting time for our campus and for our community,” said Rosa Soto, Executive Director of the LAC+USC Medical Center Foundation, Inc. and the The Wellness Center at the Historic General Hospital. “Our patients and many community residents have informed the design phase, landscape design and art components of the project. These elements will help the individuals residing in the Restorative Care Village feel a cultural and community connection to help in their recovery and healing.”
This continuum of services allows individuals to more easily receive the appropriate level of care, and it will reduce morbidity and cost while restoring function and dignity for these individuals. It will also enable and support community reintegration for people with mental health disorders, victims of violence and abuse, substance use, serious disabilities, and psychosocial and economic challenges, and ultimately, for patients experiencing homelessness and their families – investing in ‘Care First, Jail Last’.
Today’s groundbreaking is the first step in Supervisor Solis’ larger vision that focuses on creating a “Healthy Village” in and around the LAC+USC Medical Center campus, providing residents with access to a world-class integrated health delivery system, combined with development opportunities that promote economic prosperity, health, and infrastructure for the betterment of the greater community.