As a passionate advocate of integrated whole-person care, CHPW is committed to providing community members with access to comprehensive health services that address physical and mental health as well as social factors like housing and food security.

This commitment includes support for expanded access to prevention, treatment, and recovery services for individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs).

The need is apparent, as Washington is among the states that have been significantly impacted by the opioid epidemic. From 2019 to 2021, the number of opioid drug overdose deaths in the state nearly doubled, to more than 1,600, according to data from the state Department of Health.

Recognizing the severity of this public health crisis, our team partnered with local providers and community organizations to support the construction of the Skagit County Crisis Stabilization Center, a 48-bed facility being built in Sedro-Wooley adjacent to an existing Evaluation and Treatment Center.

Groundbreaking of the Skagit County Crisis Stabilization Center

Closing the care gaps

Marci Bloomquist, CHPW Senior Regional Manager for the North Sound Region, advocated for the project through her involvement with Population Health Trust, a Skagit County advisory committee that identifies strategies and actions to improve the overall health of all community members.

“Collaborating with local stakeholders, I worked to highlight the gaps in care for individuals experiencing mental health and substance use crises, which the center is uniquely positioned to address,” Bloomquist said. The gaps included a shortage of facilities in the North Sound that provide short-term residential spaces where these individuals can receive immediate care, treatment, stabilization, and around-the-clock support, she said.

The Crisis Center broke ground in August 2024 and is expected to open in late 2025. It aims to divert people experiencing mental health or substance use crises away from jails or emergency rooms, offering them appropriate, holistic care in a more suitable, safe, and supportive setting. The facility is consciously designed to be a healing environment, with calming spaces and outdoor healing gardens.

Making an impact

Bloomquist and CHPW Community Health Worker Adrian Lane attended the facility’s groundbreaking along with county officials, local legislators, health care providers, and other community members.

“The groundbreaking of the Skagit County Crisis Stabilization Center is an important milestone for our community. It reflects CHPW's commitment to whole-person care, ensuring that individuals facing mental health and substance use challenges have access to comprehensive services that meet their needs,” Bloomquist said.

“We are proud to support this initiative, which will make a significant impact in supporting recovery and long-term well-being.”

CHPW's Marci Bloomquist and Adrian Lane at Skagit County Crisis Stabilization Center groundbreaking.

Watch the Tacoma-Pierce County Opioid Summit

Supporting those in need in Pierce County

In Pierce County, CHPW Regional Manager Joe Contris, who co-chairs the Tacoma-Pierce County Opioid Task Force’s Access to Treatment subcommittee, was among the presenters at the Opioid Summit in Puyallup in March. The event featured an anti-stigma panel discussion, state and local opioid settlement funds updates, task force committee reports, among other presentations.

Contris also played a key role in organizing the SUD Roundtable in October, which brought together representatives of leading local inpatient and outpatient SUD providers. The participants agreed to work to identify at least three opportunities to improve patient care through direct collaboration of provider agencies, and to follow up on those efforts.

“As a leader in the pursuit of integrated whole-person care, CHPW partners with SUD providers, health care leaders, and community stakeholders, as well as persons with ‘lived experience’ to offer services that address substance use disorders with the goal to help our members achieve long-term and sustained recovery,” Contris said.

“The roundtable created a unified, collaborative approach moving forward in offering, as close as possible, a seamless continuum of care for our community.”