More than a decade after its closure, the original Martin Luther King, Jr. Hospital building has been transformed into a first-of-its kind, fully integrated behavioral health center.
In partnership with the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works, the design-build team includes HOK and Bernards. The newly renovated center will officially open in 2021.
Excerpted from The Los Angeles Post:
In a socially-distanced ribbon cutting, Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas—in collaboration with several county partners—inaugurated the state’s first ever licensed Behavior Health Center (BHC) that will provide fully-integrated inpatient, outpatient and supportive services for some of Los Angeles County’s most vulnerable populations.
“Over the last decade, we have transformed the MLK Medical Campus into a center of excellence that provides holistic care for our community,” said Supervisor Ridley-Thomas. “With the opening of the Behavioral Health Center, we are bringing to life our intent to establish a cutting-edge continuum of care that promotes mental health, recovery, trauma prevention, rehabilitation, and many other essential wrap-around services that foster long-term wellness for our patients and the community at large.”
Where the original Martin Luther King, Jr. Hospital once stood, a $335M state-of-the-art facility now stands. The newly renamed Mark Ridley-Thomas Behavioral Center is part of more than one billion dollars invested into the medical campus to transform and support the wellness of surrounding communities. Attendees were able to get an advanced preview of the 500,000-square-foot building that included a new peer resource center, upgraded conference rooms, innovated examination rooms, a new canopy extension, exterior site improvements and more.
As the first-of-its-kind center in the state, the BHC will house more than a half dozen County departments and partners, including clinical and behavioral staff from the Departments of Mental Health, Public Health, Public Works and Health Services. The Departments of Probation and Workforce Development, Aging and Community Services, along with the Office of Diversion and Reentry, will sponsor rehabilitative, vocational and training opportunities to give people the skills they need to reintegrate into society.
“When it comes to mental health, most facilities are not equipped to deliver a full range of behavioral health services that may be required to truly bring healing to someone in need. With an empty building on the MLK Medical Campus, we had a unique opportunity to imagine what it would be like to have a one-stop shop for all behavioral health needs. As the first of its kind in the State of California, I believe the Mark Ridley-Thomas Behavioral Health Center will set the standard for mental health care delivery, but most importantly, bring a new level of healing,” said Dr. Jonathan E. Sherin, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health.
For more information, visit ridley-thomas.lacounty.gov/.