TrueCare and Palomar Family Counseling Service merge

TrueCare, a nonprofit community health center serving San Diego and Riverside counties, and Palomar Family Counseling Service (PFCS), a trusted provider of behavioral health services in North San Diego County since 1956, have merged. Together, the organizations will expand access to integrated, whole-person care by making it easier for patients and clients to connect with physical health, mental health, and family support services.

“This merger is about people and meeting the moment in our community,” said TrueCare President and CEO Michelle D. Gonzalez. “At a time when barriers to health care can feel greater than ever, we are finding ways to open more doors and empower individuals and families to access the care they need for their physical and mental health.”

The merger brings together TrueCare’s primary care, dental, WIC, and other health services with PFCS’ long-standing counseling and school-based behavioral health programs across North San Diego County. PFCS services in Escondido, Vista and Fallbrook will continue without interruption, along with programs that serve students and families in approximately 40 local schools. As a combined organization, TrueCare and PFCS expect to serve 80,000 lives annually with the support of more than 1,000 clinicians and staff.

Through the merger, PFCS clients will have more direct pathways to TrueCare’s health care services, and TrueCare patients will also have stronger connections to PFCS’ counseling and community-based behavioral health programs, creating a more connected experience for people whose health needs span both physical and emotional well-being.

PFCS clients are not required to receive primary care from TrueCare. Those who choose to do so will have an easier path to establish primary care with TrueCare and access additional health services through the same organization.

Mental health and physical health are deeply connected, which is why TrueCare supports an integrated behavioral health approach focused on whole-person care and reducing barriers by connecting behavioral health and primary care in one coordinated system.

For more information on this merger or on behavioral health services offered by TrueCare and PFCS, please visit truecare.org.