As behavioral health cases surge, overwhelming EDs, hospitals and staff, health leaders are seeking solutions to manage this growing crisis without diverting resources from core services.
The joint venture (JV) partnership model continues to grow in popularity among health systems. “JVs can offer hospitals lower costs and allows hospitals to invest money and time on areas of acute care,” states Lifepoint Behavioral Health president Russ Bailey in a Becker’s Behavioral Health report.1
Expanding Access: Palomar Health's Partnership Success
Recognizing the potential to enhance patient care and outcomes, Palomar Health leveraged their existing partnership with Lifepoint Health to smoothly integrate a new behavioral health program into their rehabilitation facility. On September 9, 2024 they officially broke ground on Palomar Health Behavioral Health Institute.
The JV between Palomar Health Behavioral Health and Lifepoint Behavioral Health will help improve access to specialized behavioral health services across the Escondido, California community and beyond. Additionally, it will allow patients currently admitted in their rehabilitation hospital to reap the benefits of a comprehensive behavioral health program under the same roof, while also helping to alleviate existing ED strains caused by overcrowding of BH admissions.
Watch the brief video below to hear directly from Palomar Health leadership on how this partnership will help improve patient, hospital and community outcomes.
Video Transcript:
Virginia Barragan, VP, Continuum Care and Oncology Service Line, Palomar Health: It is very hard to find a partner such as Lifepoint really who has that specialty expertise in a certain area.
Sheila Brown, COO, Palomar Health, and Board Chair – Palomar Health Rehabilitation Institute (PHRI): So, while we were building our hospital and the rehabilitation with Lifepoint, I was also responsible and had oversight for Behavioral Health Service Line.
It only made sense for us to begin to explore a behavioral health hospital as well. And now we're going down that journey with Lifepoint Behavioral Health.
It was perfect because we've been together now for close to 20 years, we've had an experience that was very great - patients are happy, physicians are happy, our staff is engaged.
Virginia Barragan: So, finding someone who's willing to come in and assess the community and work in partnership with you to determine how to make that vision become a reality is a real unique partner to find. They truly have been a key partner.
I would absolutely recommend Lifepoint.
Interested in growing your hospital’s behavioral health offering? Read, “Effective Hybrid Partnership Solutions to Enhance Hospital Performance and Outcomes” to learn which model can most benefit your hospital.
