New Behavioral Health Facility Opening in Wenatchee, Will Host Open House Friday

American Behavioral Health Systems (ABHS) Parkside will host a grand opening community event Friday, October 26th from 1:30 - 3:30 pm at their new facility at 1230 Monitor St. in Wenathcee.

ABHS Parkside is a new 24-bed Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU) serving adults struggling with mental health issues which put themselves or others at risk. The new CSU will serve residents in a four-county region consisting of Chelan, Douglas, Okanogan and Grant counties.

While the facility will be operational next week, it has yet to be decided what will happen to an entire wing that, at the moment, does not have a permanent purpose. Dr. Julie Rickard of ABHS Parkland said that wing could provided the facility with the opportunity to grow into an even greater asset to the community.

"We're looking at whether it makes sense for us to become an evaluation and treatment center which means, if people need to be involuntarily detained, then they would be held in our facility for potentially up to 90 days."

This is not to be confused with the voluntary treatment the CSU will provide.

"The crisis stabilization is voluntary." explained Dr. Rickard, "So people that are in crisis that may be either homicidal or suicidal but are willing to get the help voluntarily would stay with us for up to 14 days based on medical necessity."

While involuntary detention may seem scary to some, doing so locally can be a big help in getting those living in our community back on their feet.

"If we become an involuntary unit then the idea would be that the patients that we currently send out of our area would stay local." said Dr. Rickard, "Which obviously for suicide prevention is what we want because the time of greatest risk for patients is right after they leave an inpatient facility. Most patients never make it to their next step and, especially if their are out of region, sometimes they never even make it back home. So they end up staying in the area they were in and then they are homeless in the streets or they are in a chaotic living situation."

The CSU will begin admitting patients Monday, October 29th at 8:00 am. Patients can be referred to the CSU via an emergency room, law enforcement, ambulance, mental health, primary care or self-referral 24 hours a day.

You can call the ABHS Parkside main line with any questions (509-300-1221). Call the local crisis line (509-662-7105) or use the crisis text line (741741) if you or someone you know needs to reach out to someone who cares.

For additional information about ABHS Parkside or other services provided by ABHS visit www.americanbehavioralhealth.net.