QuickTake:

Lane County’s work on a planned crisis stabilization center for people in behavioral health crises is moving forward, as officials navigate regulatory and planning challenges. 

Lane County’s stabilization center plans are coming together — but still face key tests before the facility starts construction and opens to serve the region’s most vulnerable residents. 

One of the first of the tests comes later this month: On May 18, the Springfield City Council will have an annexation hearing to hear the request to annex the project site. The proposed site, located along International Way near PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center Riverbend, is within Springfield’s urban growth boundary. City officials could make a decision at the meeting, or wait until later. 

Separately, the county is working with the Oregon Health Authority and the Oregon Department of Human Services to get the necessary licenses to run the facility, Lane County staffers told commissioners Tuesday, May 5. 

Officials are coming across challenges that need to be worked out, Eve Gray, director of Lane County Health and Human Services, told commissioners. 

For one, the statute for stabilization centers specifically says the facilities will not treat someone who needs inpatient hospital-level care. However, in Oregon, the legal understanding is that anyone who is involuntarily admitted for care requires inpatient care, not outpatient services. This places potential legal obstacles before the county’s goal of treating people at the stabilization center through both involuntary and voluntary admissions because the facility is not classified as a hospital. 

That’s how the statute has been interpreted, and clarity is necessary, Gray said.

County officials said they will try to get that clarity from the 2027 legislative session. Other stabilization centers in Oregon operate with a model that allows only voluntary admissions. However, Lane County’s approach comes after input from law enforcement officers who are seeking an alternative to jail.

“We heard loud and clear from law enforcement in our community that they really needed to know that if someone was in a mental health crisis, they had a place to treat that person,” Gray said. 

The county also is finding that the state’s “regulatory barriers” for serving youth are complicated, Gray said. Nothing is set yet, but Gray said the county may need to decide later whether to phase in the youth side of the center.

The stabilization center will have about 16 beds, and possibly more for youth. The goal is to stabilize people as quickly as possible, within 24 hours if possible. In some cases, people may stay for three to five days before transferring to other facilities for follow-up care. 

Last July, county commissioners approved a $7.8 million purchase agreement for two parcels totaling nearly 18 acres, which includes the land for PeaceHealth’s proposed 96-bed Timber Springs Behavioral Health Hospital and Lane County’s stabilization center. 

The goal is for the two facilities to work together as a campus. For certain patients, the stabilization center could treat them before transferring them to the PeaceHealth facility for further care. That will depend on each patient’s circumstances and needs. In some cases, patients may be transferred to other settings, such as group homes, residential facilities or shelters. 

Construction planning is also part of that process. County commissioners unanimously approved Tuesday a plan to have a manager and general contractor oversee the stabilization center’s construction. 

That method allows the general contractor to have input while an architect is designing the project, Shawn Hubbell, the county’s procurement manager, told commissioners. 

That’s helpful for more complex projects like this one, he said. The traditional method of bidding involves hiring a design firm, getting a design in hand and then putting the project out for a bid to a construction company. 

The county has raised about $35 million in capital for the project and, after the design is finished, will know more about the full costs. 

Ben Botkin covers politics and policy in Lane County. He has worked as a journalist since 2003, most recently at the Oregon Capital Chronicle, where he covered justice, health and human services and documented regional efforts to combat fentanyl addiction. Botkin has worked in statehouses in Idaho, Nevada, Oklahoma and, of course, Oregon. When he's not working, you'll find him road tripping across the West, hiking or surfing along the Oregon Coast.