In roughly one month of operation, the new Cascade Community Healthcare 23-hour crisis center in Centralia treated 44 clients in 384 hours of service after opening at the beginning of last month.
Mindy Greenwood, chief of inpatient services for the local healthcare nonprofit, presented an update on Centralia’s new crisis center to the Lewis County Board of Commissioners Tuesday. Greenwood presented numbers on the center’s utilization and its cooperation with local jurisdictions for the new facility since beginning operation with help from Great Rivers Behavioral Health Administrative Services Organization Chief Executive Director Trinidad Medina.
According to the presentation from Greenwood and Medina, the Cascade 23-hour crisis center opened on Monday, Feb. 2 and became the second center of its kind in the state to open its doors. It is also the only center of its kind in a rural county and will likely remain that way for some time, according to Medina. In the first month, the center served between two and four individuals every 24-hour period, with the time each patient spends in the center varying.
“Which is pretty good considering we’re in our seventh week going into our eighth week,” Greenwood said. “So I’m pretty happy with our numbers so far.”
Of the 44 patients the center treated in February, Greenwood reported that three were brought to the center by the Centralia Police Department, two by the Washington state Department of Corrections, six by the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office and two by the Winlock Police Department.
The center is designed to be a place for individuals experiencing a mental health crisis or struggling with substance abuse to go instead of going to the emergency room or even being taken to the local jail in extreme circumstances. The center works closely with local first responders and law enforcement to take drop-offs directly at the facility located at the Cascade Steelhammer Lane location.
The center provides minor wound care, along with behavioral health treatment including withdrawal treatment. Each patient that enters also goes through a range of assessments to evaluate their physical and mental health, along with their psychological state. Patients have the opportunity to receive case management at the center and also be connected with other resources.
The 23-crisis center is a new model for treating behavioral health in the state of Washington prompted by legislation passed by the Washington state legislature in 2023. The Cascade center was added on to its existing crisis stabilization facility and has been in the works for nearly two years.
For previous reporting by The Chronicle on the new crisis center, visit https://tinyurl.com/5z7dump4.
