Washington State Invests $4.3 Million to Expand Behavioral Health Care Access

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.
• 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%.

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.