In early 2014, Marcia Randall approached Legacy Health with a question. How could she partner with us to make an impact, particularly in the care of our most vulnerable citizens?
At the same time a team at Legacy was exploring the possibility of using a recently vacated Legacy-owned property to build a psychiatric emergency room and inpatient unit to tackle one of health care’s most difficult challenges – our nation’s behavioral health crisis.
There were many questions to answer and much work to do, including engaging local health care systems, but the proposal compelled Marcia and the Robert D. and Marcia H. Randall Charitable Trust to learn more. Within a few weeks, a small team from Legacy Health joined Marcia and several members of her trust to explore existing models in the country and the Unity model began to take shape.
In the days that followed, Marcia Randall pledged a transformational gift of $20 million toward the $40 million capital costs of opening the Unity Center. Many regional philanthropists, inspired by Marcia’s leadership, have since joined this monumental effort to solve the behavioral health crisis in our region.
Though the immediate goal of the Unity Center is to provide emergency care for those experiencing a behavioral health crisis, it will ultimately help remove the stigma associated with the illness. By creating greater dialogue, understanding and compassion, the Unity model of care aims to break down barriers and build up hope.