Plans for King County mental health crisis center in Seattle pass another hurdle

A King County Council committee voted unanimously yesterday to go forward with plans for a walk-in mental health crisis care center in Seattle. In effect, that serves as an approval to buy the proposed location at Broadway and Union, in the old Polyclinic building. Seattle Times engagement reporter Taylor Blatchford told KUOW’s Paige Browning about why plans to site the center there have been contentious.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

Paige Browning: How would this mental health crisis center work? Walk me through how a person in crisis might use it.

Taylor Blatchford: People will be able to walk into the center 24/7 for mental health or substance use care. And the center will accept people regardless of whether they have health insurance or are able to pay for care. They are also going to have partnerships with law enforcement, paramedics, and other local first responders, where they will be able to drop people off. Those are the two main pathways into the center.

Once people are there, there will be three different levels of care that they can access. There will be essentially an urgent care, where people can have quick appointments with a behavioral health provider. Then there will be a 23-hour unit, where people can stay to stabilize, and a short-term residential area for stays of up to 14 days.

What kinds of things will the staff at the center be able to treat, and what issues would they turn away or refer to hospitals?

At the urgent care level, those will be primarily for quick appointments like refilling prescriptions for mental health related medications. Those providers will also be able to triage people who walk in seeking care. Once people are admitted to either the 23-hour or 14-day units, then they will be able to stay at the center to stabilize, get a little bit more intensive mental health or substance use treatment, and then staff will work with them to make a plan to connect them to follow up care after they are discharged.

The issues that they probably wouldn't treat would be if people have more serious medical needs and just need more care for something that's not mental health related. Then the center would likely refer them to one of the nearby hospitals in First Hill, like Harborview or Virginia Mason, etc.

King County plans to open five of these crisis centers. One's already open in Kirkland. There have been numerous meetings and a lot of talk opposing or supporting this one. Why is it so contentious?

I was at the King County Council committee meeting yesterday that you mentioned. Almost 30 people gave public comment on this center. A number said that they were worried that having the center in Capitol Hill might negatively affect the neighbors’ safety. Some people also said that the county hadn't done enough outreach to connect with local residents and businesses. Some folks asked the county to pause for 90 days to engage with people as they make this decision.

On the other side of things, a lot of people said that there's a lot of need in this neighborhood, which has struggled with street disorder and crime tied to homelessness and drug use. People are saying this is exactly where we should have this center, because this is where people need these services. And some people said that delaying the decision on where to put the center could cost people's lives.

Capitol Hill is very urban and has a higher concentration of crisis and emergency calls. What do opponents say about that? There are people in need right there.

People are concerned about just the general neighborhood safety. There's a number of schools near the site, including Seattle University, and then some private schools and other local schools. That's something that folks are concerned about. People have also said that this neighborhood, which has a busy nightlife scene and a lot going on, might not be the most therapeutic for people coming to seek mental health or substance use treatment.

But to speak to what you said about it being a very urban area, the county argues that that's exactly where the center should be. One of the requirements that the county put into place as they're figuring out where to locate these centers is that they need to be accessible by public transit and major highways, so this location fits that description, and is also close to other medical centers, which could be helpful to partner with or refer people.

What is the problem that these walk-in crisis centers are trying to solve?

These centers are trying to fill a gap in our mental health care system that doesn't fully exist right now. We know that right now, a lot of people who really need urgent mental health care or substance use care end up in jail or in hospital emergency rooms, or they just are not able to get help at all. So, the county sees these centers as a way to provide specialized care and also take some burden off of local hospitals and local first responders, law enforcement, other systems that are really stretched thin right now.

What are the next steps in moving ahead with the Capitol Hill center?

The King County Council has until Saturday to pass a motion blocking the county from moving forward and purchasing the center. But it doesn't seem likely that that's going to happen. They would have to do that very soon. If that Saturday deadline passes, the county will then have the green light to move forward in purchasing the building, and then the full King County Council is still going to discuss the plans for the center at one of their upcoming meetings. Yesterday, they said that would likely be on Oct. 7. But that's not set in stone yet.

So, there's the question of buying the building, and then the question of how it's used?

Exactly. And there will be a lot of things for them to figure out, coordinating with the City of Seattle in terms of safety, how the city will support the center, and what the county's role will be. So, even if they move forward and purchase the building, there are definitely more things to get ironed out.

Listen to the interview by clicking the play button above.