Pacifica Hospital of the Valley (PHV), is a 231-bed safety net hospital located in Los Angeles County and serves 14 zip codes including subacute patient referrals from hospitals 400+ miles away.
PHV offers a wide range of services including: 24/7 emergency, acute care, ICU, locked behavioral health, distinct part subacute skilled nursing facility, outpatient surgery, rehab, and in/outpatient ancillary services. The primary patient population at PHV is the underserved, with 84% of the patients living in poverty. Additionally, an article, published on April 15, 2022, titled “US Hospitals with the highest share of patients on Medicaid,” listed Pacifica Hospital as number 10 nationwide for having the highest percentage of Medicaid at 81%.
Pacifica Hospital has and will continue to, provide service lines that align with the priority needs of the surrounding communities and Los Angeles County. One of the priority areas of concern on both a state and nationwide level is the number of individuals with reported mental illness, which has increased exponentially over the last few years, especially during and following the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, one in five adults in California and one in six youth in the US have experienced mental illness in the last year. In California, over 1.5 million adults did not receive needed mental health care, with 36% due to the cost of care (according to NAMI, National Alliance on Mental Illness). Over 40% of the emergency room admissions at Pacifica Hospital have a mental illness condition.
To support this continued upward trend in mental illness, over the last several years Precious Mayes, president/CEO at Pacifica Hospital collaborated with the Department of Mental Health to address this concern and how PHV can assist the community and Los Angeles County in improving access to mental health services. Pacifica Hospital has the foundation and experience of over 35 years in treating those with mental illness, including its 39-bed locked Behavioral Health Unit for acute level of care. With this long-standing longevity and expertise, Mayes has been able to develop relationships with physicians, psychologists, and community organizations in support of mental health.
“Our vision at Pacifica Hospital is to improve the access to medical and mental health services for those individuals with mental illness in California. The collaboration we hold with the Department of Mental Health has been a key to the success of creating access to new service lines for individuals suffering from mental illness,” said Mayes.
In addition to the existing 39-bed acute locked Behavioral Health Unit, Pacifica Hospital implemented additional service lines for the treatment of mental illness. In January 2021, during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new program was greenlit that includes 26 acute care beds servicing mentally ill patients with a primary medical diagnosis and those who additionally are COVID-19 positive. This program provides support surrounding acute hospitals that do not have the resources to service this patient population.
In August 2021, the Department of Mental Health awarded Pacifica Hospital a contract to open and operate its new Behavioral Health Urgent Care Center (“UCC”) located in Sylmar. The UCC offers crisis stabilization to both adolescents and adults. The volume continues to increase each month since it was opened for operation.
In June 2023, another recent program developed, in collaboration with the Department of Mental Health. It is a transition program providing acute medical assessment and care needs before the patient’s discharge/transition from incarceration back into the community.
As Pacifica Hospital continues to successfully move forward in meeting the needs of the immediate and surrounding communities, with a focus on creating access to care and the mental health crisis. The challenge for safety net hospitals that provide over 80% of care to Medi-Cal beneficiaries, the state has not provided appropriate adjustments to the Medi-Cal reimbursement rates to match the current economic status. There continues to be a challenging force with Medi-Cal reimbursement for acute medical and mental health conditions.
Mayes is advocating for an increased level of action on the state level to support safety net hospital providers that are still in post-pandemic financial recovery, working through seismic project timelines, and the inconsistencies of the Hospital Quality Assurance Fee program which is the primary funding method for safety net hospitals.
One of the mantras from Mayes is “the impossible is possible” which is the basis for the continued success of Pacifica Hospital.
For more information about Pacifica Hospital of the Valley, visit pacificahospital.com.
