The Mental Health Project is a Seattle Times initiative that focuses on mental and behavioral health issues. It is funded by the Ballmer Group, a national organization focused on economic mobility for children and families. Additional support is provided by the City University of Seattle. The Seattle Times retains editorial control over the work produced by this team.
King County officials gathered Monday to celebrate the upcoming opening of a walk-in center for people in crisis in Kirkland, a new place where people can receive care in an overburdened mental health system.
The center is expected to open Aug. 5, after final construction and inspections. It is not one of five centers funded by a county property tax passed last year, though its operator plans to file an application when a request for proposals opens this fall.
The new center is the first place in the county where adults will be able to go and receive emergency mental health care, regardless of their insurance coverage or ability to pay. State and local leaders hope centers like these will fill a critical gap in a mental health care system that lacks enough beds and is inaccessible to many people.
Connections Health Solutions, a private behavioral health company that operates similar centers in Arizona and Virginia, hopes the Kirkland center can serve up to 14,000 adults a year. The $25 million center is funded primarily by a mix of county funds and grants from the state Department of Commerce. It includes an urgent care clinic, an observation unit where patients can stay for up to 11 p.m. and 32 beds where patients can stay for up to 14 days before being released or referred elsewhere.
Washington’s mental health system is “way past the breaking point,” King County Executive Dow Constantine said in an interview before the center opened. Right now, people in crisis often end up in hospital emergency rooms or jail, or get no help at all.
“This center and those that will follow it are a sign that we are not prepared to accept a status quo that is unproductive, inhumane and incompatible with who we are as a people,” Constantine said Monday. “We are working to confront that reality.”
“This is the happiest place in Washington state this morning,” Gov. Jay Inslee said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “A lot of people are going to walk through these doors and live new lives and overcome hard times.”
Inside the center
Located in a Kirkland business complex just off Interstate 405, the center’s exterior looks more like an office building than a medical center.
The leased 67,500-square-foot building, which formerly housed Lowe’s headquarters, was a good choice because of its proximity to highways and public transportation, said Morgan Matthews, vice president of business development at Connections. It’s also five minutes from an EvergreenHealth hospital, where patients can be transferred if they need a higher level of medical care.
As patients enter the center, they are greeted by fresh blues and greens and a moss-covered wall behind a large reception desk. A separate back entrance and designated parking make it easy for first responders to drop off their patients, who can then complete paperwork or take a quick break in a designated office.
On the first floor, an urgent care clinic will allow patients to get in for appointments quickly, such as filling prescriptions or getting help with substance use. The center aims to have a doctor see patients within 90 minutes of their arrival.
On the first floor, a 23-hour observation unit, which Matthews calls “the backbone of a well-functioning crisis center,” can accommodate up to 32 patients. A workstation with computers and large windows overlooks an open room where upholstered reclining chairs on casters can be moved. Small “quiet rooms” with rockers and couches connect to the main observation unit, and other rooms are designed for group activities or private consultations with health care providers.
In the treatment spaces, enlarged landscape photos by Washington photographer Nicholas Jakubik and shades of green, blue and purple were chosen to create a calming atmosphere. Three-dimensional installations on the walls double as artwork and a space where patients can soothe themselves by running their hands over various textures.
On the first floor, the second floor has two 16-bed units: one for crisis stabilization for patients who come voluntarily, and the other for the evaluation and treatment of voluntary and involuntary patients committed through the civil court system. Patients can stay in either unit for 14 days, although the average stay is three or four days at Connections centers in Arizona, Matthews said.
All furniture in the center is weighted for safety, so patients cannot pick it up or throw it. Door handles, bathrooms and rooms are designed for patient safety and to prevent injuries.
The third floor is an open, empty construction area for now. Connections could build additional treatment spaces in the future or work with other community providers to add more services, Matthews said.
Responding to a county need
The cities of Kirkland, Lake Forest Park, Bothell, Shoreline and Kenmore have announced plans to build the center in early 2023, in an effort to address a need for crisis care. King County does not currently have crisis centers; the Downtown Emergency Service Center operates a crisis center in Seattle, but it only accepts drop-offs from first responders, hospital emergency departments and mobile crisis teams.
Months after the Kirkland center was announced, county voters approved a $1.25 billion property tax levy in 2023 to fund five centers for people in crisis. The County Council adopted a detailed implementation plan for the centers last month, paving the way for a search for sites and operators for the centers this fall.
The county plans to open the first center in 2026, but that timeline could be faster if the county selects the Connections center as one of its sites. The company is ready to apply as soon as the request for proposals opens, Matthews said.
“The operator is certainly qualified and would fit the profile that we are looking for for our five centers,” Constantine said. “They will be able to apply and I think they will be in a very good position.”
Connections plans to share data with King County and work closely together, Matthews said. They will collect data on where patients are coming from, whether they are coming from first responder drop-off points or walk-in care centers, and where they are being referred, among other measures.
“This type of installation is really a first,” Matthews said. “As a company, our orientation will be to overcommunicate as much as possible, especially in the beginning, because we all need to figure out: What’s the next step?”
Crisis care experts often point to three elements that make up a functioning system: someone to call (such as 988, the suicide and crisis hotline), someone to respond to (such as mobile crisis or co-response teams), and a place to go to receive crisis care.
“We needed a facility that wouldn’t be a barrier to entry, that wouldn’t require health insurance, and that would give people a place to go instead of our jails and emergency rooms,” Sen. Manka Dhingra said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “Now, finally, we have a place to go.”
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect reference sources at the Downtown Emergency Service Center crisis center.