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Providence Crisis Stabilization Center
Last month, Providence Alaska Medical Center held a groundbreaking ceremony for their new crisis stabilization center in Anchorage. The stabilization center is a part of the state's Crisis Now model, which focuses on developing an improved behavioral health crisis system of care for people experiencing a behavioral health crisis. The goal is offering the right care, in the right setting, when people need it.
The center will have space for 24 Alaskans needing mental health and substance use disorder treatment and support. It will offer access to rapid connections, stabilization, treatment, and discharge planning in one location. Doors will open and Providence anticipates accepting patients in mid-2024.
Crisis Intervention Legislation
The opening of the crisis stabilization center follows recent bipartisan work and advocacy for effective mental health legislation.
In 2020, I introduced House Bill 290 to authorize the establishment and licensing of crisis stabilization centers in Alaska. Later the same year, the Senate incorporated the crisis stabilization provisions of HB 290 into Senate Bill 120, and the legislature passed this important legislation. The governor signed the legislation later that year. The legislation establishes a necessary intermediate treatment option for those facing mental health crises. An emerging component for improving the behavioral health continuum of care, crisis stabilization centers are open 24/7, staffed by mental health professionals, and provide prompt mental health evaluation and stabilization.
In 2022, following the passage of SB 120, the administration introduced House Bill 172 to establish and license crisis residential centers. Championed by the Alaska Mental Health Trust, HB 172 builds on the crisis stabilization legislation, SB 120, by increasing the number of beds available for intermediate-term treatment for Alaskans in need while helping our public safety officers focus on crime prevention. Following extensive review and hearings in the House Judiciary Committee, which I chaired, the legislature passed HB 172. In addition to the 23-hour limited hold in a crisis stabilization center established in SB 120, HB 172 established crisis residential centers with a maximum 7-day hold, which is substantially shorter than the 30-day hold permitted with an involuntary commitment order. HB 172 also improved the legal requirements so that both public and private guardians receive prompt notice whenever the courts hold a person for behavioral treatment.
I am honored to have worked on these key pieces of legislation that are bettering Alaska's response to and care for individuals who are experiencing a behavioral health crisis.
Please let us know if you would like to know more about this important legislation.
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