By Kristin Gaspar
Copyright timesofsandiego
Recent news coverage has suggested that Palomar Health lost its $50 million conditional grant award from the state of California due to the district’s financial condition. That is simply not true. Linking the two is misleading and distracts from the urgency of this moment.
The reality is that our funding was rescinded on a technicality. Palomar Health will be fighting relentlessly in Round 2 of the state’s process to keep this project alive.
What we need right now are champions, not critics.
For the past seven years, a tiny but mighty team has carried this vision forward — Diane Hansen, Palomar Health CEO; Sheila Brown, former Palomar Health COO; Christi Knight, lead Palomar Health Grant Writer; and myself. Seven years ago, when I was a county supervisor, I convened a regional conference on the state of behavioral health services.
Out of that work came the recognition that North County desperately needed an inpatient behavioral health hospital. When the county sought a partner, Palomar Health was the only health system to raise its hand.
Even when the county later walked away as a financial partner, Palomar refused to give up. We pursued every possible path, writing grants, facing rejection after rejection and still never turning our backs on the community. Ultimately, we submitted what we called our “Hail Mary” application for Prop. 1 state funding. Against all odds, it was awarded.
You can imagine our disbelief when, without clear or direct communication from the state, the funds were pulled back. But let me be clear: We will not quit now.
This is a call to action. For every citizen and elected official who understands the depth of the behavioral health crisis, I ask you to stand shoulder to shoulder with Palomar until this hospital is built. North County deserves nothing less.
Join us. Be an ally. Help us bring the region’s first dedicated behavioral health hospital to life.
Interested in signing a letter of support? Email Call2Action@palomarhealth.org.
Kristin Gaspar is president and CEO of the Palomar Health Foundation.
