Oakland – October 29, 2026 -- Kaiser Permanente has awarded a $15 million charitable grant to UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland to build 20 private inpatient behavioral health rooms, adding capacity to treat approximately 700 children and adolescents a year.
Grant funds a 21,300-square-foot behavioral health wing
The money will pay for construction of the wing as part of the hospital's modernization project. The plan includes an outdoor therapy space and a therapeutic roof garden. The wing is expected to open in 2031.
Oakland hospital gains its first dedicated acute psychiatric beds
The project creates inpatient behavioral health treatment capacity at the facility for the first time. The hospital serves children and families from across Northern California regardless of ability to pay, and it provides specialized pediatric services that many community hospitals cannot offer.
It is among California's few acute care pediatric hospitals with a level 1 trauma center. It opened in 1914.
Kaiser Permanente cites youth mental health as a recurring community priority
Kaiser Permanente says youth mental health care is consistently identified as a priority need in its Community Health Needs Assessment process. Bechara Choucair, MD, the insurer's executive vice president and chief health officer, said the hospital cares for children with complex medical and behavioral health needs, including those from underserved communities. Mike Bowers, regional president for Kaiser Permanente in Northern California, said the company has been based in Oakland for more than 80 years and that improving community health requires investing in the broader care ecosystem.
UCSF Chancellor Sam Hawgood called the grant a vote of confidence in UCSF's vision for children's health. Nicholas Holmes, MD, president of UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals, said a family in a mental health crisis "shouldn't have to struggle to find the right care close to home."
Grant joins five other Kaiser Permanente mental health programs
Kaiser Permanente lists these related initiatives:
- Peer support services through the Youth Mental Health Corps
- Mental Health Career Accelerator
- Mental Health Scholars Academy
- Mental Health Training Program
- Behavioral Health Training Institute