Opinion: Palomar needs your support for a new behavioral health hospital
Palomar Biological Center in Escondido File photo courtesy of Palomar Medical Latest news coverage has suggested that Palomar Wellbeing lost its million conditional grant award from the state of California due to the district s financial condition That is absolutely 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true Linking the two is misleading and distracts from the urgency of this moment The reality is that our funding was rescinded on a technicality Palomar Soundness will be fighting relentlessly in Round of the state s process to keep this project alive What we need right now are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 organization has carried this vision forward Diane Hansen Palomar Robustness CEO Sheila Brown former Palomar Vitality COO Christi Knight lead Palomar Physical condition Grant Writer and myself Seven years ago when I was a county supervisor I convened a regional conference on the state of behavioral physical condition services Out of that work came the recognition that North County desperately needed an inpatient behavioral strength hospital When the county sought a partner Palomar Strength was the only wellbeing system to raise its hand Even when the county later walked away as a financial partner Palomar refused to give up We pursued every manageable path writing grants facing rejection after rejection and still never turning our backs on the public Ultimately we submitted what we called our Hail Mary application for Prop 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 vitality predicament 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 fitness hospital to life Interested in signing a letter of sponsorship Email Call Action palomarhealth org Kristin Gaspar is president and CEO of the Palomar Wellbeing Foundation
