PROJECT COMPLETION: L.A. COUNTY CELEBRATES PREMIERE RESTORATIVE CARE VILLAGE AT OLIVE VIEW-UCLA MEDICAL CENTER

A $100 million construction project at L.A. County Health Services’ Olive View-UCLA Medical Center is now complete

The County of Los Angeles today is officially celebrating the completion of a large-scale construction project known as the Restorative Care Village (RCV) at L.A. County Health Services’ Olive View-UCLA Medical Center in the community of Sylmar.

Begun in early 2020, the $100 million project included the construction of an 80-bed mental health residential treatment program, a 48-bed residential recuperative care center, a mental health urgent care center and outpatient wellness center.

The new facilities will offer access to ongoing healthcare to those who are medically fragile and lack a place to live as they recover post hospital discharge.

“The completion of the Restorative Care Village at our County hospital is a big step forward towards keeping medically fragile individuals off the streets,” said L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents the 5th District. “The work that’s going to take place within these walls — the mental health support, case management services and physical recuperative care — those are the ingredients that will truly make a difference in our fight against homelessness for some of our most vulnerable and at-risk residents.”

“For many years, the County has lacked adequate beds for people who are medically fragile and have no place to go as they recover from hospital care, or who need in-patient or out-patient behavioral health care. Imagine being sick, alone and lacking a safe place to go while you convalesce. This Restorative Care facility at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center will provide a stable and healing environment for those individuals and provides a significant advance in County efforts to provide care for patients as they recover,” said L.A. County Third District Supervisor Sheila Kuehl whose district abuts the Medical Center.

“Public Works is proud to support the County’s initiative to establish more facilities with integrated direct care services. A modular building approach was used to deliver this project on-time and on-budget so our most vulnerable residents have a safe place to stay, heal, and receive services that help them reintegrate back into our communities,” stated Mark Pestrella, Director of Los Angeles County Public Works.

“At LA Health Services our doctors and nurses understand that patients’ long-term health and wellness depend on our ability to care for them beyond our emergency rooms and hospital beds,” said Doctor Christina Ghaly, Director, Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. “The Restorative Care Village is an example of the innovative approach to patient care that LA Health Services is taking in order to provide whole-person care to the most vulnerable amongst us; the Village also provides our LA County care system with an opportunity to deepen the impact we have on the lives of those who are experiencing homelessness.”

“Los Angeles County Restorative Care Villages (RCV) provide an innovative approach to recovery oriented care for the most vulnerable and underserved communities in the County,” said Director of L.A. County Department of Mental Health Dr. Jonathan Sherin, M.D., Ph.D. “Olive View RCV will offer a mental health continuum of care that includes an outpatient clinic, urgent care center, residential treatment programs and adjacency to an acute care hospital that has a psych ed and inpatient unit. At L.A. County Department of Mental Health, Olive View RCV is a crucial component of our strategic plan to gradually transition people from the outdoor asylums of the streets and the indoor asylums of the jails into their successful reintegration back to the community.”

The RCV will be fully operational in January of 2022.