Construction is ramping up at a new state psychiatric hospital as Washington works to meet continued demand for treatment of people accused of crimes.
The state broke ground in October on the new 350-bed facility at Western State Hospital in Pierce County. Work began in December, but picked up last month and passersby will start to see the building develop in June, said state Department of Social and Health Services spokesperson Jessica Nelson.
For years, the Department of Social and Health Services has been under court oversight to improve unconstitutionally long wait times for mental health treatment and evaluations for criminal defendants who are incompetent to stand trial. The new hospital is key to complying with a court-ordered settlement in the case known as Trueblood.
Washington is required to conduct an evaluation within 14 days and offer inpatient competency restoration treatment within seven days. The state has long struggled to meet those guidelines and has paid hundreds of millions in fines as a result.
At the groundbreaking for the new hospital in October, then-Gov. Jay Inslee noted the rise in need for these services over the past few years.
“This exponential growth was not sustainable unless we really put pedal to the metal on our building programs with what we’re doing today,” Inslee said. “So we have invested tremendous resources to respond to this tremendous challenge.”
In February, the most recent month for which comprehensive state data is available, the average wait time for a jail-based evaluation was about 11 days. Inpatient evaluations took five to six days. Admissions for treatment took nearly seven days at Eastern State Hospital, near Spokane, and less than six days at Western State. In years past, this could take over a year.
The new Western State Hospital will be the latest addition to the state’s bed capacity.
In 2023, the state acquired and opened a psychiatric hospital in Tukwila for patients under civil commitments, freeing up space for criminal defendants at Western State.
Last year, the state added another 86 beds at Eastern and Western State hospitals.
In their capital budget passed last weekend, state lawmakers included $282 million for the final phase of construction at the new hospital. The budget now sits on Gov. Bob Ferguson’s desk.
The hospital is aiming to help shift the focus at Western State more toward people entangled in the criminal justice system who need treatment and away from civil patients. Under that system, civil commitments would transfer to community-based facilities to get help.
Construction is expected to be completed between 2027 and 2029.
This story was published by The Washington State Standard and is used by permission.
