Partnership Highlight: Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital
photo courtesy of Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital
PARTNERSHIP HIGHLIGHT
Partnership Highlight: Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital
How do we measure the health of our communities?
By how we care for the health of the individuals within them.
Mental health is one of BFF’s core pillars, and we are committed to supporting the resources, institutions, and projects that help everyone get the care they need to alleviate unnecessary suffering.
Despite the fact that more than 8 million Americans suffer from mental health challenges, the number of psychiatric hospitals and access to affordable care has plummeted.
Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital is the largest private psychiatric hospital in San Diego and is devoted to treating individuals struggling with mental illness. Sharp Mesa Vista also uniquely has a dedicated psychiatric Intensive Care Unit for those facing an acute crisis. Providing mental health care and treatments not available in a standard hospital setting, Sharp Mesa Vista offers critical support that positively affects successful outcomes and ultimately changes lives.
photo courtesy of Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital
A History of Healing
Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital opened in 1963 and has continued to grow ever since. Sharp Mesa Vista is a specialty hospital within the Sharp HealthCare system, which originated in the 1950s from a vision to serve people, becoming a not-for-profit system that invests its profits and resources back into the community.
Sharp Mesa Vista offers a range of mental health and substance abuse treatments and turns no one away. Sharp Mesa Vista is utilized by private citizens, as well as county and emergency services, providing a welcoming environment for both patients and visitors. The clinical team also participates in community outreach, such as collecting resources for the unhoused population and sharing information about substance abuse recovery options, as well as open discussions to reduce stigmas and provide help to those in need.
While its focus on mental health makes a positive impact throughout San Diego County and accepts most insurance, Sharp's success in this arena highlights the urgent need for increased psychiatric care throughout the country. Other options, such as private mental health hospitals, often do not take insurance and can charge fees as high as $30,000 per month, barring or eliminating access to a large demographic of those in need.
As a supporter of Sharp Mesa Vista, BFF has witnessed the transformative impact that expert and specialized mental health treatment has on individuals, turning lives around through proper diagnoses, treatments, medications, and follow-up care.
Mental Health Is Community Health
The rates of mental health concerns are staggering:
1 in 20 US adults have lived with a serious mental illness (such as schizophrenia or depression).
1 in 6 US young people (6-17) have experienced a major depressive episode.
More than half of people with a mental health condition in the US did not receive treatment last year.
In California, 35.3% of the people who did not receive treatment did so because of cost.
Left untreated, mental health concerns can have staggering detrimental impacts, eroding day-to-day functioning and leading to disability, substance abuse, unemployment, and homelessness.
The rise of mental health concerns and the lack of necessary infrastructure have exacerbated the homelessness epidemic, which continues to spike throughout the country. More than 20% of unhoused people suffer from a serious mental health condition, and many of those in need of help end up in emergency rooms or jails instead of appropriate psychiatric facilities that can offer proper care.
Addressing mental health is a vital step toward building more resilient, safer communities where treatment is extended to those in need. Hospitals like Sharp Mesa Vista help ensure people can live full, enriching lives. Institutions like these can drive powerful change – but more of them are needed.
Our Involvement
BFF helped support Sharp Mesa Vista to finish the construction of the Shiley Intensive Care Unit and build an outdoor garden space, allowing patients and visitors to spend time in nature.
We are proud to support an initiative that serves a distinct purpose within San Diego and can help care for those who are struggling with mental health challenges.
Are you working on a project that helps provide vital mental health resources? We’d love to learn more. Apply for a BFF grant today.
