UCSD - University of California - San Diego

12/11/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 12/11/2025 09:51

$10 Million Grant from Price Philanthropies Launches Behavioral Health Hub at UC San Diego Health

Published Date

December 11, 2025

Article Content

Price Philanthropies has awarded a lead grant of $10 million to the University of California San Diego to establish the UC San Diego Health East Campus Behavioral Health Hub (BHH). The grant is designated to support the development and construction of the project, as well as the first four years of operations of the Hub, which is slated to open in 2028.

This significant investment will help expand access to critically needed mental health services across the region. While it is estimated that approximately 18% of adults in San Diego have a moderate to severe mental illness, only 12% receive care, leaving 6% with unmet needs for mental health services. In addition, San Diego County has less than 50% of the needed inpatient psychiatric acute beds and there are limited Partial Hospital Programs that accept MediCal.

"As the region's top-ranked medical system, UC San Diego Health is ideally positioned to provide additional mental health resources that our community so critically needs," said Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla. "We are grateful to Price Philanthropies for this visionary support which will allow us to broaden access to essential behavioral health services in San Diego."

Once completed, the Behavioral Health Hub will include two inpatient psychiatric units, totaling 50 beds, and offering a full spectrum of outpatient services, including partial hospitalization and interventional psychiatry. The $10 million grant is part of UC San Diego's overall effort to raise $35 million to support the full development of the Behavioral Health Hub.

President of Price Philanthropies Robert Price stated: "Our foundation is proud to partner with UC San Diego Health to strengthen San Diego's behavioral health infrastructure to ensure current and future generations have access to the care they need.

Steve Koh, MD, MPH, MBA, is the psychiatrist-in-chief and associate chief medical officer for behavioral health at UC San Diego Health.

The Behavioral Health Hub represents the region's first academic behavioral health care model with fully integrated, disease severity-focused care designed to address the crippling lack of behavioral health workforce needs in the region.

Strategically located along the San Diego Trolley line, the facility will serve youth, adults and families - including those reliant on MediCal and those in under-resourced communities, aligning with UC San Diego Health's longstanding mission to provide equitable, high-quality care for all who need it in the region.

"For eight years, we've been committed to expanding access to forward-leaning, patient-centered treatments - like partial hospital programs - right here in San Diego County," said UC San Diego Health CEO Patty Maysent. "Thanks to the Price Philanthropies' visionary and sustained support, UC San Diego Health is uniquely positioned to advance transformative behavioral health care. This generous lead gift from Price Philanthropies empowers us to deliver the most appropriate, evidence-based, and compassionate care to those who need it most."

The facility will also include a behavioral health workforce training hub to prepare the next generation of mental health professionals. San Diego County currently faces a shortage of mental health professionals, and it is estimated that by 2027, San Diego will need more than 18,500 new behavioral health workers to meet projected demand.

"Increasing behavioral health treatment capacity, pushing innovation in care and supporting the workforce pipeline cannot happen in silos," said Steve Koh, MD, MPH, MBA, psychiatrist-in-chief and associate chief medical officer for behavioral health at UC San Diego Health. "This support from Price Philanthropies will strategically place all three components in one location. We will be able to train our future behavioral health workforce in real time while leading new discoveries and serving the underserved in our community."

Planned workforce training within the new hub will include psychiatry physicians; psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) fellows; physician assistant students from UC San Diego School of Medicine; and students in nursing, social work, counseling and therapy from other academic partners in the region.

"Our community has long faced a shortage of accessible, high-quality behavioral health services, especially for those who need more than traditional outpatient therapy but do not meet criteria for inpatient care," said Jennette Lawrence Shay, chief operating officer of Price Philanthropies. "The new Behavioral Health Hub will be a lifeline for individuals and families seeking evidence-based, innovative treatment."

To learn more about the new Behavioral Health Hub and support its development, please contact Diana Barnard at [email protected].

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The new hub will include workforce training, including psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) fellows. A cohort of PMHNP fellows from a past year are pictured here with Dr. Koh (fourth from left) and other UC San Diego Health team members.
UCSD - University of California - San Diego published this content on December 11, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on December 11, 2025 at 15:51 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]