State’s $3.2 million grant sets stage for county’s new crisis center

It’s been a long time coming, but Pierce County leaders are on the cusp of building a 16-bed facility to provide emergency service to people struggling with mental-health problems.

It’s not a done deal yet; County Council members still must give their approval, but the project cleared a key hurdle Thursday when the state Department of Commerce awarded a $3.2 million grant to fund construction.

Basically, if council members agree with the idea for the center, all they have to do is vote to accept the state money.

“Increasing access to quality behavioral treatment and care has been a top priority for us,” County Executive Bruce Dammeier said in a public statement Thursday. “With this grant we now can see a 16-bed facility on the horizon, which is a large step forward in providing care that is badly needed in our community.”

The so-called “crisis stabilization center” has been a pet project of Dammeier’s since mid-2017, when he included it in a package of proposals aimed at addressing the region’s behavioral health crisis.

County council members set aside $500,000 for the idea in the county’s 2018 budget, but they attached strings to the money, requiring Dammeier and his staff to present a plan for location, construction and ongoing operations.

The state grant, a milestone, answers the question of up-front construction costs. Throughout the year, county staffers have been working on the other elements.

“It’s a big partnership,” Dammeier said. “When you talk about where you’re going to fund it from, how you’re going to fund capital and operating expenses, where you’re going to site it, who’s going to run it.”

As proposed, the center would be built in the Parkland-Spanaway area. Dammeier settled on the location after consulting with first responders who said the area was underserved. Dammeier said he hopes the county can break ground before the end of 2018.

The county already supports a similar facility in Fife, operated by Recovery Innovations, that also provides short-term services for people in immediate crisis.

The new facility is “basically a clone, if you will, of the one in Fife,” Dammeier said. “When we did our analysis, we found that folks weren’t really availing themselves of Fife because it was so far out of the way.”

Operating funding would come from the state, filtered through Medicaid.

“There’s very little risk to the county budget at this point,” said Dammeier, who expects council members to accept the grant without objection. “I think it’s something they’ll be excited about. They know the need.”

The proposed facility would serve as a southern bookend, effectively doubling short-term treatment capacity while giving law enforcement and emergency service providers a second option for transport. Recovery Innovations is slated to operate the facility, following selection by the county during a competitive application process earlier this year.

County Council members will get their first look Monday at plans to build and open the facility. The rundown will come from Steve O’Ban, Dammeier’s senior counsel for behavioral health.

This story was originally published July 27, 2018 at 6:26 PM.