First-of-its-kind treatment center for mothers opening in Everett

EVERETT — A new family services center in Everett will treat substance use disorder for pregnant women and new mothers.

Gov. Jay Inslee and Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers were on hand Tuesday to celebrate the opening of the center at 2601 Summit Ave., which has the capacity for about 150 patients per year.

It is operated by Evergreen Recovery Centers and allows women with substance use disorders or behavioral health issues to receive long-term treatment and temporary housing.

In 2022, there were 207 opioid-related overdose deaths in Snohomish County. According to state data, 60 of the deceased were women.

So far in 2023, 188 people in the county have died from an opioid-related overdose, according to the Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Linda Grant, Evergreen Recovery’s CEO, said the building is the first in the nation to have both a “pediatric transitional unit” — that is, a ward focused on treating infants born addicted to opioids — and a long-term treatment center for mothers. This means both mothers and their children can receive opioid withdrawal treatment while staying close to each other at a critical time in child development, she said.

In other programs, Grant said, women would have to choose between being with their newborn or inpatient treatment.

The center’s program has existed since 1999. Currently, an older building on the campus houses women and children in recovery. Grant said those residents will move into the new building in December.

The building itself provides a number of new things Grant said she wanted in the old building, like light, spaces and air conditioning.

“People recover,” Inslee said at the grand opening. “When we give them a chance, they take it.”

The state contributed about $4 million for the new building, Inslee said, calling it “an investment that pays great dividends for the state of Washington.”

The three-story building has 18 studio-style housing units, five pediatric units, an early learning center and play areas for children.

Somers said the space is “built for safety.”

“There is a huge and growing need for facilities like this,” he said.

Somers wants to use millions of dollars from settlements with opioid distributors and manufactures to “meet people where they are” through mobile opioid treatment programs. Other priorities that address overdose prevention and education are outlined in the county’s short- and long-term spending plans.

In the pediatric units, the center has prioritized an “eat, sleep, console” method of treatment that doesn’t use prescribed drugs. But with the rise of the fentanyl crisis and the synthetic opioid’s increased potency, Grant said the crisis has “changed everything.”

The center still uses certain drugs in low doses to wean babies off strong opioid dependencies they developed in the womb.

Grant said the older buildings on the campus will be refurbished to become another women’s treatment program.

Jenelle Baumbach: 360-352-8623; jenelle.baumbach@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @jenelleclar.