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Work starts soon on county's new mental health facility

Skagit Valley Herald
Sep 06, 2020

Sep. 6--Construction is set to begin Sept. 21 on a mental health treatment facility in Sedro-Woolley that will eventually replace one that now sits on the former Northern State Hospital campus.

Work on the $10 millionSkagit Regional Stabilization Campus on Highway 20 should be completed in about a year, according to Ken Hansen, director of the county Facilities Management department.

The facility is dedicated to short-term, acute mental health care and will be the only one of its kind in the North Sound region -- which includes Island, San Juan, Skagit, Snohomish and Whatcom counties.

Patients will generally be brought here by law enforcement after experiencing a mental health crisis and will work with staff to stabilize and plan for future care.

"We all need these in the community," said Skagit County Commissioner Ron Wesen. "People need to have treatment available when they need it."

The 16-bed center will replace a similar facility now located at the Sedro-Woolley Innovation for Tomorrow (SWIFT) Center complex -- the former Northern State Hospital property. That property is being redeveloped through an agreement between the City of Sedro-Woolley, Skagit County and the Port of Skagit. The current treatment facility there is set to close in 2023.

Crews are already at work on a new turn lane and culvert to improve access to the property for the new facility, an 8-acre parcel off Highway 20 east of PeaceHealth United General Medical Center, Hansen said.

Commissioner Ken Dahlstedt said it is crucial the community have a place for people in crisis to go because incarceration is often the alternative.

The county will host a virtual groundbreaking ceremony at 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 18. Community members can join online at global.gotomeeting.com/join/897513885 or by phone by dial 1-669-224-3412 and using access code 897-513-885.

-- Reporter Brandon Stone: bstone@skagitpublishing.com, 360-416-2112, Twitter: @Brandon_SVH

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(c)2020 the Skagit Valley Herald (Mount Vernon, Wash.)

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