GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — When Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed the state budget into law last week, $5 million was set for construction of a new behavioral health center in Kent County.
The Behavioral Health Crisis Center (BHCC) is a partnership with Network180 and Trinity Health Saint Mary's. The goal is to be open by 2023. It will be located in the Trinity Health campus in downtown Grand Rapids.
Often, people who face a behavioral health crisis end up in the emergency room, and some even in a correctional facility. However, this is not always the proper care and appropriate treatment setting.
"This is a huge achievement for this community in our efforts to redesign how we respond to behavioral health crisis in our county, as we have been working on this for at least four years," said Stan Stek, Kent County Commissioner and Network180 board chair.
According to a press release by Network180 and Trinity Health, the BHCC will "dramatically reduce the delay in care" for people in a behavioral health crisis. They will be offered a secure and safe setting to receive behavioral intervention and medical care.
Stek said the response from lawmakers, the governor, and MDHHS has been supportive in their efforts.
"I think that there's been sort of a universal understanding that we need to do things better, we need to do it differently," said Stek, "And frankly, it's going to take some money to get us there."
The $5 million will help get the construction rolling.
“We are pleased to be opening a new facility dedicated to serving the behavioral health needs of our most vulnerable population,” said Trinity Health Saint Mary’s President Matt Biersack in a press release, “This is a great step for our community as we start to develop a facility that will greatly improve access to much-needed behavioral health services in West Michigan.”
The crisis center will also work with an effective mobile crisis team in partnership with area law enforcement. This will help reduce the number of individuals going to jail over a behavioral health crisis.
"We're spending a lot of money on systems that aren't effectively solving the problem," said Stek," So, we can do it more efficiently and much more effectively. That's what this is attempt to do."
RELATED VIDEO: Mercy Health to open Behavioral Health Crisis Center on St. Mary's campus
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