In January 2022, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Outpatient Center (MLK OPC) Primary Care and Urgent Care Clinics moved into a new 500,000 square foot Behavioral Health Center building.

As one of the first facilities of its kind, the Behavioral Health Center – a renovated former Martin Luther King, Jr./Drew Medical Center building located in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Medical Campus in Willowbrook – will augment primary care and urgent care services while integrating inpatient, outpatient and supportive services to provide a continuum of care for those struggling with mental illness, substance use disorders, homelessness, and those who have been involved in the criminal justice system.

“We are excited to care for our patients in a new location that allows us to focus even more on our patients’ needs,” said Michael Mills, MHA, Director, DHS Martin Luther King, Jr. Outpatient Center. “With an expanded number of exam rooms and with medical, behavioral and other supportive services under one roof, we will be able to increase our capacity to care for more residents and serve as a coordinated entry point to ongoing care for residents in the South Los Angeles community.”

The new facility features 20 exam rooms for MLK OPC Primary Care, which will provide nearly 30,000 visits per year. Additionally, the MLK OPC Urgent Care Clinic will operate 20 exam rooms for 16 hours a day, 365 days per year, which will double the existing urgent care capacity with a projected 40,000 visits per year. Its proximity to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital Emergency Department also allows for enhanced collaboration to help with reducing the high demand of residents visiting the Emergency Room for episodic care.

Ms. Hunter was the first patient at the new MLK, Jr. Outpatient Center location

As a comprehensive one-stop-shop, the new five-story facility will house various Los Angeles County departments, including Health Services, Mental Health, Workforce Development, Aging and Community Services, and Probation. This is the first facility in Los Angeles County to bring together clinical, behavioral, and supportive services in a medically underserved community.

“The Behavioral Health Center has the potential to define a new model of healthcare for LA County,” said Quentin O’Brien, CEO of DHS Ambulatory Care Network. “Providing a comprehensive system of quality care alongside our mental health partners and other county departments in the same building removes barriers that prevent residents from getting the care that they need.”

A grand opening ceremony for the Behavioral Health Center is anticipated to happen in Spring 2022.

If you have any questions, please send your inquiry to: acnpio@dhs.lacounty.gov