In what will be a major breakthrough for mental-health and addiction treatment and a model for other California counties, San Diego County is gearing up to build a new, integrated Behavioral Health Wellness Campus in the Midway District. The state-of-the-art facility will offer medical treatment and support services in one location — serving everyone from an unhoused veteran in crisis to an adult working to overcome addiction. The whole-person care campus in one location will be a model for other counties in California.  

San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chair Terra Lawson-Remer was joined outside the Psychiatric Hospital of San Diego County by the County’s Behavioral Health Services Director, doctors, community leaders, and people with lived experience to highlight the vision for the new campus.

“For too long, families have been forced to navigate a maze of disconnected programs in their worst moments,” said Chair Terra Lawson-Remer. “The result has been overcrowded emergency rooms, rising homelessness, and avoidable safety risks. By bringing care, stability, and dignity under one roof, this campus will give people a place to turn — and help us build a system that prevents crises instead of just reacting to them.”

Located on the site of the former County Health Services Complex on Rosecrans Street, the Behavioral Health Wellness Campus would serve as a comprehensive hub linking mental-health, substance-use treatment, crisis stabilization, and outpatient care. The project is estimated at $210 million and could serve more than 20,000 San Diegans each year, including veterans, working-age adults, and justice-involved residents.

“Being able to access care needs in one place leads to better outcomes, and ultimately, lives saved. San Diego’s proposed Behavioral Health Wellness Campus aligns with this innovative best practice. As one of the first projects to move forward with this campus model in California, we appreciate San Diego’s strong leadership,” said  Karen Larsen CEO of the Steinberg Institute, a non-profit in Sacramento focusing on mental health care.

The announcement comes as the County submits its application for up to $100-million  in state Proposition 1 Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program (BHCIP) funding to help build the campus — a cornerstone of California’s effort to modernize mental-health care and expand treatment capacity. The County would contribute the remaining costs.

Whole-Person Care in One Location

The proposed campus would include:

• Crisis Stabilization Unit – Short-term, therapeutic care for adults 18 years and older in acute crisis needing immediate stabilization to reduce emergency department use and/or jails..
• Mental Health Rehabilitation Center – Long-term, 24/7 treatment and rehabilitation for people with serious mental illness.
• Social Rehabilitation Facility / Peer Respite – Voluntary, peer-led support for adults experiencing emotional distress in a home-like setting.
• Adult Residential Substance Use Treatment Facility – Medically monitored recovery for individuals addressing drug or alcohol dependence.
• Outpatient Community Mental Health Clinic – Accessible preventive and ongoing treatment with therapy, case management, and peer programs.

Nadia Privara-Brahms, is the Acting Director for San Diego County Behavioral Health Services.

“The County of San Diego Behavioral Health Wellness Campus will offer an integrated, community-based behavioral health resource where mental health and substance use services will be co-located This new wellness campus will address health disparities, unmet needs, and advance equity in behavioral health by expanding access to high-quality, person-centered care for populations disproportionately impacted by mental illness, substance use, homelessness, and justice involvement,” said Nadia Privara-Brahms, Acting Director for San Diego County Behavioral Health Services.

Steve Koh, MD, MPH, MBA, Psychiatrist-in-Chief and Associate Chief Medical Officer for behavioral health at UC San Diego Health, explained how whole-person care in one location along with the expansion of treatment and support services will improve outcomes and help patients from slipping through the cracks instead of getting treatment.

“It is important for patients suffering from substance use or mental health issues to be treated with respect and with comprehensiveness to their complex conditions,”said Dr. Steve Koh. “They are deserving of a treatment home from which a full spectrum of services is made available. In their time of need, we cannot continue to push a disjointed model, expecting them to find their own way. UC San Diego Health has long supported such evolution in care as evidenced by our work at East Campus Medical Center. A full-services Wellness Campus supported by San Diego County is a welcome step towards our mutual goal of meeting the needs of our fellow San Diegans."

Building Care Before Crisis

This project builds on years of County investment to expand crisis-stabilization units, launch mobile crisis-response teams, and double residential-treatment capacity across the region.

California’s behavioral-health system has been underfunded for decades, with resources declining since the 1970s. In recent years, San Diego County has worked to reverse that trend — increasing its behavioral-health budget by 40 percent since 2021. The Behavioral Health Wellness Campus will continue that progress, creating a comprehensive continuum of care that saves lives, prevents homelessness, and restores dignity.

YouTube Link Press Conference: https://youtu.be/Dzz6M4jcNpY?si=sXO59_rYk99VLDl7