Everett behavioral health urgent care looks to help more patients

EVERETT — In Snohomish County, people in crisis — such as psychosis, suicidal ideation or substance use disorder — often end up in an emergency room.

Mental health care providers at Providence Regional Medical Center Everett are trying to change that.

Since November 2019, Providence Behavioral Health Urgent Care in Everett has served people in psychiatric distress who need immediate help. The walk-in services are available to those age 16 or older, regardless of insurance status.

It’s the only walk-in clinic of its kind in the region.

“What Providence is able to offer through their behavioral health walk in clinic is extremely, extremely valuable,” said Cammy Hart-Anderson, manager of Snohomish County’s behavioral health and veterans services.

About 150 to 250 patients come through each month. The clinic can serve “so much more,” said Helen Hansen, Providence’s regional director of behavioral health.

“We just need to get the word out there,” Hansen said. “Not very many people or agencies really know about us.”

When Providence opened the clinic at 1330 Rockefeller Ave, the hospital’s emergency department — one of the busiest in the state — was seeing an influx in patients with mental health needs. But staff at other urgent care clinics or emergency departments “don’t always have the passion” or resources to help those patients, said Noah Rubin, a psychotherapist at the behavioral health clinic.

Now, 30-40% of the clinic’s patients come from emergency department referrals. The clinic also works closely with the Snohomish County Diversion Center, the Everett Fire Department and the state’s 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

After a patient checks in, they’re escorted to one of four rooms where a health care provider talks with them and helps them determine next steps. That could include medication, therapy, a suicide safety plan, substance use disorder treatment, or an appointment with another care provider. Patients can also come to get medication refills and other mental health support if their usual doctor is booked out.

“It’s an invaluable resource,” said Jenni O’Donnell, who oversees Providence’s primary care behavioral health program that sometimes refers patients to the walk-in clinic. “We’re sending (our patients) to a place with trauma-informed and focused care.”

If an adult patient is a danger to themselves or others, or if they can’t care for themselves, staff can help the patient transfer to the hospital’s 24-bed inpatient facility that opened in 2021. The clinic typically helps admit one person per week to inpatient treatment, said Sarah Whybark, a psychotherapist at the clinic.

Hansen and Whybark said most patients are seen within 25 minutes of arrival, and are out of the clinic within an hour and a half. Hansen said the clinic is working to reduce barriers in the check-in process, and may begin allowing patients to schedule visits up to three days in advance.

In addition to in-person visits, the clinic also offers virtual appointments to patients anywhere in the state.

Ideally, Hart-Anderson said, the network of services in the county would be robust enough that patients could immediately be connected with longer-term mental health or substance use disorder treatment after a visit at the clinic. But that may be a long way off, she said.

The behavioral health clinic is open weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Hansen said she is working to extend the clinic’s hours, and to provide pediatric care. Right now, the only urgent care option for those younger than 16 with behavioral health needs is the crisis clinic at Seattle Children’s Hospital.

Staff at the clinic said a behavioral health crisis looks different for everyone, and whatever it is, they’re ready to help.

“I try to tell all my patients,” Rubin said, “you did the right thing by coming here.”

Sydney Jackson: 425-339-3430; sydney.jackson@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @_sydneyajackson.