County starts quick-response mental health services

Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier says the county is making good on his promise earlier this year of better service for people with mental health issues.

The Mobile Community Intervention Response Team (MCIRT), which Dammeier announced in his State of the County speech in January, has begun operating in the Spanaway and Parkland areas. In its first month, the pilot program helped 36 county residents who have severe behavioral health needs that generally fell to first-responders and hospital emergency rooms. The MCIRT is connecting those clients to housing, care and case-management services, Dammeier said.

The majority of the clients have been homeless or living in derelict, unsafe or inadequate housing, officials said.

So far, the new approach is getting better outcomes “for some of the most vulnerable members of our community,” Dammeier said. “At the same time, our first-responders are being freed up from calls and visits that are better-suited” for MCIRT’s “behavioral health expertise. It’s a win for everyone.”

MCIRT stemmed from Dammeier’s pledge in January that the county would “help lead the establishment of mobile crisis prevention teams” that can quickly respond to behavioral crises faced by families and communities.

Similarly, he said the county would also help build a 16-bed, short-stay diversion center for patients in transitional phases of treatment, and contribute money toward the construction of a 120-bed behavioral health hospital in Tacoma. The latter is a joint project of MultiCare Health System and CHI Franciscan Health, which are seeking public funding for part of the project’s cost.

The smaller facility is being planned for the Spanaway area, a location that officials said provides better access to crisis services for people in south Pierce County.

For construction of the mental health hospital in Tacoma, the county provided a one-time $1 million appropriation. The hospital, scheduled for completion in 2018, is expected to treat 5,000 patients a year.

Officials say Washington ranks 48th out of the 50 states in availability of mental health services. The national average for beds per 100,000 people is 26, while Washington averages 8 beds. Pierce County ranks among the lowest of all urban counties in the state with 2.8 beds per 100,000 residents.