RIVERSIDE COUNTY, Calif. — A proposed $580 million county-run wellness center received final approval from the Riverside County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
With this approval, construction will begin in June on Riverside University Health System’s 19.4-acre Wellness Village campus at the intersection of Harville and Placentia streets in Mead Valley.
subscribe
Scheduled for completion in 2026, the village will offer primary and specialty care, dental services, substance use disorder services, a pharmacy, as well as on-site respite facilities for families.
A crisis residential behavioral health center for children and a children’s mental health emergency care center (both firsts in Riverside County) are planned, as are social services such as WIC, job training, and educational services.
“This project is unlike anything done before. People of all ages have access to a variety of services in an environment designed to promote healing, community interaction, and overall well-being. It will be a place where we can do it,” said Dr. Matthew Chan, behavioral health professor. Director of RUHS. “We are breaking new ground in terms of behavioral health approaches.”
District 1 Supervisor Kevin Jeffries said the RUHS Wellness Village represents a major change in health care delivery and will be a model for the state.
“By centralizing and strengthening access to health care, including pediatric behavioral health services, families no longer have to travel outside the county for the care they need,” Jeffries said.
The project is expected to create hundreds of permanent jobs and generate millions of dollars in taxes and spending, county officials said.
The center is being developed in partnership with the nonprofit corporation P3 Riverside Holdings, LLC. The funding plan includes issuing tax-exempt bonds and having the county enter into long-term land leases and facilities agreements with nonprofits.
