By HFT Staff

The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) announced that 124 sponsors have been awarded a total of $3.3 billion in competitive funding awards for projects that support behavioral health infrastructure through DHCS’s Proposition 1 Bond Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program (BHCIP) Round 1: Launch Ready. The Palomar Health Foundation announced it has been awarded a conditional bond of nearly $50 million through BHCIP that will help fund the development of Palomar Health’s new state-of-the-art facility, the Palomar Health Behavioral Health Institute.  

The Bond BHCIP Round 1 awards offer significant resources for behavioral health infrastructure and an unprecedented opportunity to address historic gaps that effect meaningful, sustainable change to better serve Californians across the behavioral health continuum of care. As part of the state’s goal to reduce mental health crises, increase the availability of services and support community-based solutions, these investments are vital in ensuring the long-term sustainability and accessibility of behavioral health services.    

Slated to open in 2027, the 84,700-square-foot Palomar Health Behavioral Health Institute will feature a 120-bed acute psychiatric hospital with hospital-based outpatient treatment and 38 dedicated slots for detoxification and withdrawal management. Once open, the outpatient program is projected to serve nearly 20,000 individuals annually.