RIVERSIDE COUNTY, Calif. — A groundbreaking is scheduled for this week for a county-run, $580 million wellness center that officials say will offer a new approach to behavioral health treatment.
The event for Riverside University Health System’s new Wellness Village campus will be held at 20545 Harvill Avenue on June 12 at 1 p.m. RUHS leaders, Riverside County officials, state officials, health care advocates and community members are expected to attend.
subscribe
The 19.4-acre Wellness Village at the intersection of Harville and Placentia streets in Mead Valley is the first of its kind in Riverside County and is being touted as a model for the state. When completed, it will be the first in the county to offer acute inpatient treatment and urgent mental health care for children.
The village, scheduled for completion in 2026, will also provide social services, including basic and specialty medical care, dental services, substance use disorder services, a pharmacy, an on-site respite center for families, WIC, job training and education services.
When the Riverside County Board of Supervisors approved the project in late April, RUHS Behavioral Health Director Dr. Matthew Chang said, “This project is unlike anything that has been done before. This will be a place where people of all ages can receive a variety of services in an environment designed to promote healing, community interaction and overall wellness. We are breaking new ground when it comes to our approach to behavioral health treatment.”
At the time, First District Superintendent Kevin Jeffries said the RUHS Wellness Village represented a major shift in health care delivery and would serve as a model for the state.
“By centralizing and enhancing access to care, including pediatric behavioral health services, families will no longer have to travel outside the county for essential care,” Jeffries said.
County officials say the project is expected to create hundreds of permanent jobs and generate millions of dollars in tax revenue and spending.
The center is being developed in partnership with P3 Riverside Holdings, LLC, a nonprofit corporation. Financing plans include issuing tax-exempt bonds and the county entering into a long-term ground lease and facility agreement with the nonprofit organization.
