PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 5, 2023
Media Contact: Debbie Lee for Gateways Hospital
For Gateways Hospital: debbie@elevatepublicaffairs.com; mobile: (310) 430-6912
Los Angeles Gateways Hospital and Mental Health Center Announces Expansion of
Much-Needed Youth Services with $19.2 Million Grant
Funding will help expand the capacity of treatment facilities that serve young Californians as part of Los Angeles County’s Behavioral and Mental Health Infrastructure
Los Angeles, CA., - On the heels of Governor Gavin Newsom’s announcement to award $480.5 million in grants for 54 projects to improve California’s behavioral health infrastructure for children and youth, Los Angeles-based Gateways Hospital and Mental Health Center announced that it will receive $19.2 million of the grant funding to expand behavioral and mental health services for youth at its facilities at its Echo Park hospital campus. The expansion is part of the Los Angeles County-based projects that support behavioral health infrastructure to address gaps in care and create sustainable improvements that better serve county residents.
“The investment in behavioral and mental health services tailored to youth comes at a pivotal time,” said Gateways Hospital CEO Dr. Phil Wong. “The past several years have been especially difficult for adolescents and there is a dire need to provide support for our youth facing mental health crises. We commend Governor Newsom and Los Angeles County for prioritizing the funds to focus on youth mental health by expanding infrastructure capacity to help shift the tide. Our team is eager to break ground on our expansion so that we can start serving the youth who are in need.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), in 2019 more than one in three school-aged children had experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness and one in six adolescents reported making a suicide plan, an increase of 40% since 2009. The fears, social distancing protocols, and widespread adoption of remote learning implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically compounded the need for mental health support.
The planned expansion will focus on youth with serious emotional or behavioral problems or who are experiencing an acute psychiatric emergency, the majority of whom have experienced traumatic events or adverse childhood experiences and/or involvement with child welfare services. Support specialties will focus on adolescents who identify as transgender, intersex, and nonbinary, those who are facing crises due to issues surrounding substance abuse and eating disorders, and 18-24 Transition Age Youth (TAY) who face increased pressure and placement issues as they transition to adulthood.
“Gateways Hospital has been dedicated to providing mental health services to Angelenos in need for the last 60 years, especially those patients who have chronically mental health emergencies,” said Barry Steinhardt, Gateways Hospital Board President. “With this grant, the expansion will be able to help hundreds of youths by providing specialized treatment and counseling they sorely need, in a safe and supportive environment.”
The 13,000-square-foot expansion project will add 37 new adolescent beds to the existing 27 and increase the total number of adolescent patients served from 300 to 445 per year at the main Gateways Hospital and Mental Health Center campus. The planned facility is unique because it will offer patients multi-faceted treatment modalities – including drug and alcohol counseling, group counseling and peer support, medical monitoring, and support from dieticians for patients with eating disorders – alongside traditional mental health care.
The awards are delivered through the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program (BHCIP) Round 4: Children and Youth grants.
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ABOUT GATEWAYS HOSPITAL AND MENTAL HEALTH CENTER
Since 1953, Gateways Hospital and Mental Health Center, a non-profit organization has been a stronghold in providing comprehensive mental health services and programs administered by a team of qualified healthcare professionals at 11 campuses throughout Southern and Central California. As one of only 31 freestanding psychiatric acute care hospitals in California, Gateways currently provides crucial services to highly vulnerable adolescents. Tucked into the Echo Park community, the main hospital building currently houses 55 beds specializing in mental and behavioral health services to the most disadvantaged populations, including homeless patients, regardless of their ability to pay. At present, the Hospital serves an average of 1,700 individuals each year, including a total of more than 525 adult and adolescent inpatients. For more information, visit gatewayshospital.org.
ABOUT THE BHCIP GRANT
The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program (BHCIP) Round 4: Children and Youth grants support California All, Governor Newsom’s Master Plan for Kids’ Mental Health.
This is the fourth of six rounds of the $2.2 billion BHCIP funding provided by the Legislature and the Governor, which was authorized in the fiscal year 2021-22 budget to construct, acquire, and expand behavioral health facilities and community-based care options as well as invest in mobile crisis infrastructure. Funds can only be used for facility capacity expansion. BHCIP is part of a broader commitment by the California Health & Human Services Agency (CalHHS) to improve the state’s behavioral health and long-term care continuum infrastructure.
These investments will ensure care can be provided in the least restrictive settings by creating a wide range of options, including outpatient alternatives, urgent care, peer respite, wellness centers, and social rehabilitation models. They will allow alternatives to incarceration, hospitalization, homelessness, and institutionalization by better meeting the needs of vulnerable populations who face the greatest barriers to access. A variety of care placement options can provide a vital off-ramp from intensive behavioral health service settings, helping transition individuals, including the most vulnerable, to community living.
Recipients of BHCIP Round 4: Children and Youth grants include cities, counties, Tribal entities, nonprofits, and for-profit organizations statewide that serve target populations. Additional information on BHCIP Round 4: Children and Youth awardees is available at BHCIP Grant Award Information.
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