August 8, 2024

MultiCare Deaconess Hospital received $6M grant for behavioral health unit

SPOKANE, Wash. — MultiCare’s INW Foundation received a $6 million grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce and plans to use these funds toward the construction of an inpatient behavioral health unit in MultiCare Deaconess Hospital. The new unit is expected to have at least 20 beds for inpatient behavioral health care.

“This is very exciting news and a monumental step forward for our community,” explained Samantha Clark, assistant vice president of strategy and business development for the MultiCare Behavioral Health Network. “MultiCare is focused on providing greater access to behavioral health and adapting to best meet the needs of our growing community.”

In 2023, suicidal ideation was the eighth most common diagnosis in the Deaconess emergency department. This represents a significant increase in the number of patients with suicidal ideation coming to the emergency department for treatment. In 2022, suicidal ideation was the 17th most common diagnosis.

According to a recent study, more than one in five in Washingtonians have a diagnosable mental illness and people with severe mental illness have their life expectancy to be shortened by 10-25 years earlier than those without a behavioral health condition.

About MultiCare

MultiCare Health System is a not-for-profit health care organization with 12 hospitals and more than 22,000 team members. We are committed to achieving our mission of partnering for healing and a healthy future for all and delivering world-class health outcomes and exceptional experience.

As the largest community-based, locally governed health system in Washington state, our comprehensive system of health includes numerous primary care, urgent care and dedicated specialty services. For more information, visit multicare.org or follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.