The Orange County Health Care Agency (OCHCA) has taken over full operational responsibility for the Be Well OC campuses located in Irvine and Orange. This transition, effective today, concludes the operational partnership between Orange County and Mind OC, the nonprofit entity that previously managed the facilities under the Be Well OC brand.
For Irvine residents, this means the new $118 million behavioral health campus, situated on 22 acres of county-owned land near the Great Park, will now open and operate under direct county management. This significant development for local health services was initially anticipated to open its doors in the spring. Under the OCHCA's new direct oversight, the county has stated plans to launch services at the Irvine campus “as soon as possible.” The facility is designed to provide critical care programs, including crisis stabilization, residential treatment, and substance use recovery services. Residents will access these services directly through the county.
The change in management structures reflects an effort to streamline the delivery of behavioral health services across the county. Orange County Supervisor Board Chairman Doug Chaffee provided a statement regarding the shift, noting that bringing these services directly under OCHCA management is intended to establish a clear line of County responsibility. Chaffee's statement also indicated that the move is expected to strengthen service coordination among County health providers, ultimately enhancing the County’s delivery of specialized care to the individuals and families who rely on these programs. This emphasis on direct county oversight aims to improve how these essential health services are administered and coordinated within the county.
Mind OC, through its chairman of the board, Dr. Richard Afable, acknowledged the end of the operational partnership while reaffirming its broader mission. Dr. Afable stated that the mission of Be Well OC is to enhance the behavioral health care system for all Orange County residents through transformational public and private partnerships. He expressed the organization's pride in having successfully built two state-of-the-art campuses dedicated to behavioral health services within Orange County. Dr. Afable conveyed that Mind OC looks forward to continuing its mission and serving Orange County residents, indicating an ongoing commitment to the broader goals of behavioral health improvement in the region.
Under the new arrangement, services at the existing Orange campus will continue to operate unaffected by the change in management. Both the new Irvine campus and the Orange campus are slated for rebranding. They will both receive a new County-owned identity as part of the operational transition. The county's immediate focus is now on the swift launch of the specialized care programs at the Irvine campus, making these resources available to residents in need in the near future.
