Commerce invests $4.3 million to expand behavioral health care access for people in crisis
Grants will fund acquisition and renovation of crisis stabilization facilities in Lewis and Pierce counties
OLYMPIA, WA – The Washington State Department of Commerce today announced $4.3 million in grants to two crisis triage and stabilization projects – one in Lewis County and one in Pierce County.
Providers at these facilities assist people who are experiencing a mental health crisis, or who are in need of withdrawal management services, and help them to stabilize and restore their health. Stabilization facilities offer a meaningful alternative to emergency room hospitalization or incarceration.
These latest capital investments through the state’s Behavioral Health Facilities program support Gov. Inslee’s five-year plan to modernize and transform Washington’s mental health system, with the aim of treating civil patient placements in community-based settings. Including today’s grant awards, the program has invested more than $475 million to create nearly 3,000 beds and 50 outpatient facilities in communities statewide.
“Investments in community-based treatment strengthens the state’s behavioral health ecosystem by ensuring more equitable access to care and services that meet people where they are, closer to family and personal support systems,” Commerce Director Mike Fong said.
Approximately $67 million in 2023-25 behavioral health funding will be made available later this year.
Grants announced today:
Pierce County – $2.45 million to Trouvés Health Care Corporation to purchase and renovate an existing facility in Fife that will create 16 new crisis stabilization beds and 10 additional crisis observation recliners.
A spokesperson for Trouvés Health Care Corporation said: “We are grateful for the opportunity to work with Pierce County to expand adult crisis stabilization services in the community. This award will allow us to make necessary capital improvements to our facility in Fife, enabling the opening of a 16-bed Crisis Stabilization Unit and a 10-bed Crisis Recovery Center. By taking a wraparound service model approach and providing client-centered services for immediate and sustained stabilization, Trouvés will be able to serve more than 4,000 individuals in crisis each year. ”
Lewis County – $1.83 million to redesign and remodel Cascade Community Healthcare’s 23-hour Crisis Care treatment center in Centralia. This investment will increase the facilities’ treatment capacity by 400%.
“This grant is an amazing opportunity to treat people with immediate behavioral health needs right when they need the help, and not wait until the crisis spirals out of control,” said Richard Stride, CEO of Cascade Community Healthcare. “We will be able to treat individuals in crisis in a setting that is centered around their needs, rather than sitting in a hospital emergency department. Having immediate wraparound services will also be a game changer for our hospital.”
The grants were awarded through a competitive process conducted by Commerce in partnership with the Department of Health, Department of Social and Health Services, and the state Health Care Authority. The funds are for construction, renovation, acquisition, and/or equipment costs associated with establishing the facilities, and must be maintained for the stated use for at least 15 years.
Visit the Behavioral Health Facilities Program website to learn more about the program.
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