July 31, 2022 - WASHINGTON, D.C. - Last Friday, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) announced that he secured over $11 million in federal funding for nine projects and programs to expand health care facility capacity, provide mental health services, and strengthen behavioral health crisis response across California in several Senate appropriations bills. The bills were released by the Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday and will now be reconciled with their House counterparts ahead of final passage.

“I am proud to support projects that will enhance health care and emergency response systems across California,” said Senator Padilla. “Many of these projects involve collaboration between health care professionals, social services workers, and law enforcement to better respond to crisis situations. When public health and public safety agencies work together, we can create safer outcomes for everyone.”

Projects to expand health care capacity and improve emergency response in California included in Senate appropriations bills:

$2.5 million for a Regional Public Safety Radio Network Upgrade in Los Angeles County 

The Interagency Communications Interoperability System is a local government owned Land Mobile Radio Network that hosts more than seventy Regional Public Safety Agencies, allowing all member entities to communicate directly with one-another through radio communications. This project will upgrade software and hardware throughout Los Angeles County to provide seamless interoperable communications for emergency responders.

$2 million for the Lincoln Center Resilience Hub in Oakland 

This funding will help expand the Lincoln Recreation Center/Resiliency Hub, a vital community center in the heart of Oakland’s Chinatown and Downtown area. Resilience Hubs provide a local place for people–regardless of income, language spoken, or housing situation–to refrigerate medicines, charge devices to communicate with loved ones, and have access to clean air in the event of disasters, extreme weather events, and electrical grid instability.

$1.615 million for Torrance Police Department Body-Worn and In-Car Cameras

This funding will help the City of Torrance purchase police officer body-worn and in-car cameras to improve transparency, accountability, and public safety.

$1.5 million for the Children’s Hospital Orange County Interventional Radiology Department

This funding will enable the acquisition and installation of a cutting-edge therapy system to help improve health care for children with complex medical conditions in Southern California.

$1.368 million for the San Gabriel Valley Mobile Crisis Program

This funding will support the San Gabriel Valley Alternative Mobile Crisis Response Program. The program aims to improve responses for individuals experiencing a crisis by providing a 24-7 alternative response to law enforcement for those experiencing a mental and behavioral health emergency, and by providing easy-to-access, pro-active mental health resources for school-aged youth to reduce the instances of mental health crises that require an emergency response.

$1 million for the City of Modesto’s Mental Health Crisis Response System

This funding will help launch a comprehensive Mental Health Crisis Response System pilot program to better address emergency service calls involving individuals experiencing mental health crises.

$752,000 for LA Maestra Family Health Centers’ El Cajon Behavioral Health Center

This funding will support the expansion of La Maestra Community Health Center’s newly acquired building located at 181 Rea Avenue in El Cajon. This is part of their initiative to improve access to primary health care and specialty care–including behavioral health services and substance use disorder services–for low-income, uninsured, and underinsured, immigrant and refugee populations.

$500,000 for GLIDE Foundation’s Integrated Mobile Services

This funding will help expand the GLIDE Foundation’s Integrated Mobile Services to provide mobile connections to health care for substance abuse disorders, and other complementary wraparound support services in San Francisco’s most high-need areas.

$125,000 for Legacy Health Endowment’s Person-Centered Care Community Living Pilot Program in Stanislaus and Merced Counties

This funding will help create and pilot a long-term care program, with wraparound medical and non-medical services, to support socially isolated seniors and family caregivers in Stanislaus and Merced Counties.

These projects and programs were included in the Senate’s Labor, Health, and Human Services; Commerce, Justice, and Science; and Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations bills. Complete summaries and texts of these bills are available here.
Source: Senator Alex Padilla