FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 10, 2026
Latisha Townsend – Communications Director, Supervisor Foley
(714) 559-8364 | Latisha.Townsend@bos5.oc.gov
OC Vice Chair Katrina Foley Releases Statement on Be Well Irvine Campus Following Board Action Involving Mind OC
ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA — Today, Orange County Board of Supervisors Vice Chair Katrina Foley released the following statement regarding Be Well Irvine and the County’s legal action involving Mind OC.
“Accountability matters here. This action by Mind OC is tantamount to a hired contractor building a beautiful home for your family to find health and wellness in and then refusing to give you the keys. The County of Orange owns the land and invested more than $68 million taxpayer dollars to build the Irvine wellness campus to deliver mental health and substance use treatment, not to create a structure where private interests impose unreasonable costs or assert control over a taxpayer supported public asset,” said Vice Chair Katrina Foley.
Continued Vice Chair Foley, “Patient care is our priority – this unnecessary delay hurts families in need. Taxpayer dollars must remain protected. We expect any entity operating within a publicly supported behavioral health campus to demonstrate transparency, fiscal responsibility, and respect for the community each facility serves.
My office will continue fighting for a behavioral health system that places south county patients first and protects public access to care.”
Background:
The new Irvine campus features approximately 75,000 square feet of building space, featuring a crisis urgent care for adults and adolescents, a sobering center, residential treatment for adults and outpatient programming for adults and adolescents. Similar to the Orange campus, the Irvine campus will provide clinical care and comprehensive support for families navigating the system of care even after they leave the campus. The campus also introduces urgently needed perinatal residential care, services previously unavailable at this scale in the county.
The Be Well OC initiative grew from a public-private partnership that expanded access to mental health and substance use treatment across Orange County. The Orange County Board of Supervisors committed $40 million toward the Irvine campus, with additional support from the State of California, CalOptima, federal funding secured by Congressman Lou Correa in the FY23 omnibus bill, and investments from MemorialCare and Kaiser Permanente, bringing the first phase to about $86 million.
Located on 22 acres of County owned land at the former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, the Irvine campus delivers a continuum of care including mental health urgent care, crisis stabilization, residential treatment, outpatient services, and community wellness programs for Orange County residents regardless of insurance status or ability to pay.
This facility will provide relief for children, youth and families in especially Southern Orange County, where this facility fills a much-needed gap in service.
To inquire about Vice Chair Foley’s media availability, please contact Latisha Townsend at (714) 559-8364.
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Vice Chair Katrina Foley was elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2022 to represent the newly established District 5, which includes the cities of Aliso Viejo, Costa Mesa, Dana Point, a large portion of Irvine, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Newport Beach, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, as well as the unincorporated areas of Coto de Caza, Emerald Bay, Ladera Ranch, Las Flores, Rancho Mission Viejo, Stonecliffe and Wagon Wheel. This is her second term on the Board of Supervisors, where she previously served District 2.
Vice Chair Foley’s 2026 Board appointments include:
Chair – Orange County Housing Finance Trust,
Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA),
Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA),
Orange County Audit Oversight Committee,
OC Public Libraries Advisory Board,
Newport Bay and South Orange County Watershed Executive Committees,
Transportation Corridor Agency - Foothill/Eastern,
Transportation Corridor Agency - San Joaquin Hills,
Coastal Greenbelt Authority
National Association of Counties (NACO),
Urban Counties Caucus
