LAKEWOOD, Wash. — The state is planning to add a 350-bed forensic psychiatric hospital to the Western State Hospital campus as part of a larger reconstruction project.
Mark Thompson, CEO of the Gage Center of Forensic Sciences at Western State Hospital, said the goal is to transition to serve mostly patients who have been processed by the criminal justice system. Civil commitment patients will be moved to other smaller facilities around the state.
"This is a great move forward for the treatment of patients in the state of Washington," said Thompson. "I think it is actually going to make the community feel more safe once the new hospital is constructed."
Harriett Triquart has lived in Lakewood for over 45 years. She said that she's one of many residents who are worried more forensic patients will be a danger to the community.
"To me, it's a prison, they will have these people under lock and key, supposedly these people will not get out," said Triquart. "Lakewood has had more than its share of people who I understand need help, and I don't think it's right that Lakewood bear the burden," she said.
Thompson said the patients that will be staying in the forensic hospital will be the same patients currently residing at WSH.
"I think that is a common misconception," he said. "We are not going to be taking more severe patients."
The City of Lakewood is asking the public for feedback about the project's master plan through July 7.
"Really what we can do is review the application to change the master plan for those community impacts and respond accordingly," said Jim Kopriva, a spokesperson for the city of Lakewood.
Already, dozens of residents have sent in letters mostly in opposition of the project for reasons involving security, the patients the new hospital will hold and the close proximity to a school, playground, shopping center and homes. Others said they live nearby and had no idea this was happening.
"Let's take a little time and find a place that's not in the heart of a community," said Triquart. "Just because Lakewood, 100 years ago had a mental hospital, [we] should now be saddled with this forever?" she said.
A spokesperson for the Department of Social and Health Services said the overall project is part of Governor Jay Inslee's vision to transform behavioral health in the state of Washington.
"The legislation directed us to put it here," said Robert Hubenthal, capital programs director for the DSHS. "We've got support in place that we don't have to rebuild if we were to construct this someplace else," he said.
Proposed forensic psychiatric hospital in Lakewood
Hubenthal said the forensic hospital will be modernized with better security features.
"The keying and the access controls and the security and surveillance will all be modern technologies," said Hubenthal. "It will just be a much better environment of care than what we were able to do in our existing facility or by trying to remodel our old facilities," he said.
According to Hubenthal, the overall project, which includes the reconstruction of some of the buildings, will cost $612 million.
"Bob and I and other folks from DSHS are going to be getting out, meeting with community stakeholders, with the school district, with local towns and municipalities to really inform them about this education," said Thompson.