About Be Well OC Irvine
Be Well OC is set to expand its unique brand of health and wellness with the opening of a second campus in Irvine. Our goal is to become a vital part of Orange County’s robust healthcare ecosystem responding to the community’s mental health and wellness needs and offering services to all OC residents. We are serious about wellness – of the body and the mind.
Photos of the Month
Project Overview
Be Well OC Irvine is the second campus in Orange County, developed through a public-private partnership, between Be Well OC, the County of Orange, CalOptima, hospital partners, and multicultural and multifaith partners. The campus will support a mental health ecosystem for children, adolescents, families and adults in Orange County.
The Be Well OC Irvine campus is located on 22-acres of county owned property, on the former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, at 8001 Marine Way.
Campus Design
The Campus’ design is modern, simple, warm and inviting—seamlessly integrating indoor areas and extensive outdoor gathering areas, classrooms, gardens, and activity spaces. The outdoor environment will also foster community engagement and wellness. From the gardens to the walking paths, the open lawn, gathering and lounging area, and the regionally appropriate landscaping, the connectivity of outdoor and indoor promotes wellbeing, creating a sense of dignity, belonging and calm.
Site Aerial Photos
Construction Milestones
February 2023 – site preparation began
This phase of work included existing building abatement, demolition, and rough grading. An architectural photographer documented the existing buildings prior to demolition and the heritage of the site will be incorporated into the final design elements.
Summer 2023 – Construction contractor selection
Selected through competitive process for Area 1.
Summer 2023 – Marine Way Road improvements began
Close collaboration with the County of Orange, City of Irvine, FivePoint, and Second Harvest on the Marine Way road improvements.
October 2023 – Groundbreaking Event
October 2023 – construction on Area 1 began
Including new utility infrastructure, building construction and site landscaping
Early 2025 – Area 1 of the campus is anticipated to open.
Campus Master Plan
The Irvine campus has been thoughtfully designed to bring dignity to the mental health journey.
It will provide clinical care and wrap-around support services, to assist families in navigating the complexities of the system of care. We envision classrooms, educational and training spaces, consultation & counseling spaces and others multi-purpose areas that offer community engagement and collaboration.
Services will be available across all age ranges and clinical needs and allow for the integration of indoor treatment areas with a variety of outdoor healing environments.
Stakeholders
Be Well OC has engaged four critical stakeholder groups: (1) first responders and hospitals, (2) community – consumers/patients and families, (3) clinical professionals, and 4) community-based services organizations.
The campus will support a full continuum of care including wellness & prevention, residential treatment, and urgent care services.
Cornerstone Partners
Be Well OC is proud to work with leading care providers and organizations in Orange County.
Irvine Campus FAQs
A. The next Be Well Campus will be located on 22-acres of County property, at the former MCAS El Toro military base. The long-term vision for the Irvine Campus is to provide a full continuum of mental health and wellness services, from crisis care to residential treatment to community wellness support.
The Campus will be developed in areas, with the first area providing approximately 75,000 SF of building space. Area 1 will include a crisis urgent care for adults and adolescents, a sobering center, residential treatment for adults, and outpatient programming for adults and adolescents.
A. In addition to much needed clinical services, the Be Well Irvine Campus will provide wrap-around support services and Care Navigation, to assist families through the complexities of care.
We envision classrooms, educational and training spaces, consultation & counseling spaces and others to be determined in collaboration with the community.
There’s also wonderful outdoor space on this campus. Each indoor program will have its own outdoor space, in addition to ample community public space at the site. Simply being in or having a view of natural space helps build better mental health, enhances recovery from stress and even increases optimism. Our hope is that community members come to this campus to stay healthy, not just at a time of crisis.
A. The Be Well OC movement has always intended to create three campuses to serve the different regions of our community and their unique needs. This is in response to the growing need in our community for wellness and mental health support.
Due to the size of the Orange Campus site, there were limitations on the number and type of services that could be provided. The Irvine campus provides us the opportunity to provide services across the age continuum, from children to adults, and across the care continuum, from wellness to crisis.
A. The health and well-being of the Orange County community is Be Well OC’s top priority. We are excited about our plans for a new campus in Irvine near the Orange County Great Park to serve more Orange County residents facing mental health challenges. During the evaluation of the condition of the Irvine site, legacy Navy base impacts including a suite of synthetic compounds known collectively as perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) were found in the soil. As the future home of the Be Well OC Irvine Campus is located on the former Navy base, this finding was not surprising – but the good news is that Be Well OC engaged leading environmental experts and consultants to evaluate and mitigate the soil to remove legacy impacts to the highest standards.
Modeled after the successful Be Well OC Orange Campus, which opened in January 2021, the Be Well OC Irvine Campus will be a safe place that provides best-in-class mental health and substance use treatment to Orange County residents who are referred for care.
Safety and Security FAQs
A. Any one of us. Be Well is for anyone experiencing a mental health challenge. This can mean a student reaching a breaking point at school, a young mother who is experiencing symptoms of depression, a head of household who does not know where else to turn for relief from crippling anxiety. Working with healthcare providers, community organizations, first responders, hospitals, and family members of those in need, we receive referrals from any OC resident experiencing a behavioral health care crisis.
A. People who seek care at Be Well campuses are struggling with mental health or substance use issues and are seeking care in a safe and nurturing space.
Our primary goal is to stabilize someone experiencing these issues as quickly as possible and give them the support and tools to return to their day-to-day lives. If additional support is needed, we offer onsite residential care or referrals to the network of treatment programs in OC.
A. Traditionally, individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis would go to an emergency room or even jail. Emergency rooms and detention facilities are not designed to treat mental health issues, and individuals may wait hours to get the care they need, and the crisis may be exasperated.
At Be Well, individuals can receive targeted behavioral health or substance use urgent care and/or residential treatment in an environment intentionally designed to promote a dignified and respectful healing experience. Unlike a hospital emergency room, the Be Well Campuses are designed to provide the right care at the right time.
A referral is required to be admitted to the campus. To obtain a referral, a call can be made to the Be Well in-take line, via a hospital or health care practitioner.
Once a referral is obtained, individuals arrive at the campus via a loved one, transported by the Be Well Mobile Team, or a first responder, for which we have a dedicated and enclosed entrance. All arrivals are handled quietly, respectfully, and discreetly.
Individuals cannot enter / walk into the campus without a referral.
A. There are times when a patient arrives on a 5150/involuntary mental health hold, too ill to make a care decision for themselves. This includes a person at risk for suicide or experiencing a significant mental health episode. The goal is to stabilize them quickly and determine the next appropriate level of care.
A. During a client’s stay at the Be Well Campus, a personalized discharge plan is developed in collaboration with a team and the client. When ready to exit the Campus, transportation is provided to ensure that the client arrives at the agreed upon destination.
Individuals cannot walk off the campus prior to discharge, and without transportation.
A. After receiving care, anyone who needs assistance with housing arrangements will work with our dedicated, full-time service provider on the campus. Individuals will be offered a variety of services including housing navigation services which initiates the process of securing permanent housing.
A. We prioritize the care and safety of everyone on and around our Campuses, from patients and staff to visitors and community members.
- Our campus buildings are secured and require badge-access at all times, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
- We have security staff onsite 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Security monitor both interior and exterior locations around the perimeter of the campus including the main lobby and intake areas.
- Security cameras are placed throughout the facility and grounds.
- Staff can move between buildings with badge access.
- Residential units are staffed and supervised 24/7.
- Patient activities around the campus are supervised at all times.
- Patients transitioning from one unit to another are escorted by staff.
- Patients always remain within their own unit or group. Adult and adolescent units are geographically and physically separate at all times, and each residential unit has its own courtyard for patients to utilize with supervision.
A. The next Be Well Campus will be located on 22-acres of County of Orange property.
A. There is a vision of classrooms, educational and training spaces, consultation and counseling spaces, and a collection of community organizations dedicated to community health and wellness.
