Pierce County Council Approves New Crisis Stabilization Center

At this afternoon’s meeting, Council voted 6–0 on Ordinance 2018–56 which amends a proviso in the 2018 budget, authorizing the release of $500,000 for crisis recovery center construction. The initial funding for the center was proposed by Executive Dammeier and approved by the Council in the 2018 budget.

The 16-bed facility will be located at 1420 112th St. E. in Parkland and will serve individuals facing a crisis due to mental illness or substance abuse. The total project cost of $6.1 million will be funded through a combination of funding from state and federal grants. Medicaid will fund the operation of the center.

I sponsored the bill not just because it’s the right thing to do, but also because the need is so great.

Over the last year I chaired the National Association of Counties Behavioral Health Committee because people suffering from these disorders are ending up in our jails and emergency rooms instead of treatment. It’s particularly common here at home.

To put this crisis in perspective, in 1955 there were about 337 psychiatric beds per 100,000 people in the United States. That was before deinstitutionalization. The theory was that smaller, community based inpatient and outpatient treatment would serve patients better and correct real problems in the system.

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

Now, nationally there are roughly 24 beds per 100,000 population. In Washington that average is among the worst in the country with less than 13. In Pierce County, until we open the new psychiatric hospital, there are less than 3.

This is a moral failure of government at every level, including here in Pierce County.

While there’s been some concern expressed by my colleagues about the location, I’m more concerned that there aren’t more of them. We know people are in crisis all over the County that will remain far away from facilities like this, particularly residents of my district. But I also trust our first responders when they identified the Parkland Spanaway community as the location which would meet the most need.

This bill will provide incremental improvement to our system. It will:

• Save County resources in our jail.
• Free up critical emergency room space.
• Get first responders back out on the street as quickly as possible.
• But most importantly, it provides care that our residents suffering from behavioral health crisis deserve. This is about treating people with dignity and it is our moral obligation to move forward.

I’m grateful for the unanimous support of the Council and the work that Executive Dammeier, Steve O’Ban, Peter Ansara, and the rest of the executive team has put into this.

I also want to thank my colleagues Councilmembers Ladenburg and Talbert who carried the flame on this issue before I arrived. The groundwork they laid made it possible.

Construction on the crisis recovery center could start as soon as early 2019.