With 115 beds, the newly opened Smokey Point Behavioral Hospital in Marysville is the largest facility dedicated to treating mental health conditions in Snohomish County. (Ian Terry / The Herald)

With 115 beds, the newly opened Smokey Point Behavioral Hospital in Marysville is the largest facility dedicated to treating mental health conditions in Snohomish County. (Ian Terry / The Herald)

New hospital to provide 115 psychiatric beds for all ages

SMOKEY POINT — Smokey Point Behavioral Hospital, a $22 million building that will provide a variety of mental health treatment services, has just opened its doors to its first inpatients.

The 72,000-square-foot, two-story hospital at 3955 156th St. NE eventually will be able to treat 115 inpatients, the largest facility of its kind in Snohomish County.

It will help fill a decades-long need for more inpatient psychiatric beds, and is expected to draw patients from Snohomish County and throughout the region.

The hospital will open in stages, and is planning to have all 115 beds available in six to eight months, said Dr. Richard Kresch, president and chief executive of US HealthVest, the company which planned and operates the hospital.

A 14-bed adult unit is now open. Fourteen additional beds for adults with more severe psychiatric problems will open soon.

“We get a wide range of patients,” Kresch said. “It’s not optimal to have everyone on one unit.”

As a new psychiatric hospital, it is opening units slowly to ensure good care, he said.

The hospital now has about 60 employees. When it is fully open, that could grow to as many as 175, Kresch said.

Patients are admitted to psychiatric hospitals for problems such as depression severe enough that they are thinking of killing themselves, bipolar disorder, and people who have both a mental health issue and need treatment for drug or alcohol problem, Kresch said.

Plans also call for an inpatient adolescent unit — the county’s first — to be open in a month or so. “It’s a priority,” Kresch said.

The hospital’s opening will allow people to get inpatient care close to home, allowing family members and loved ones to be involved in their treatment.

Keith Binkley, president of the nonprofit National Alliance on Mental Illness Snohomish County, recently toured the building.

“For us, it’s essentially an answer to many prayers,” he said.

Binkley said he was impressed with the way the building is laid out as well as its design, including the wood, colors and art work selected for its interiors and a garden area for patients to enjoy fresh air.

A waiting room off to the side of the main entrance provides a more private, less overwhelming spot for people in emotional distress to be admitted, Binkley said.

“If you have to be temporarily housed in a facility, this one is vastly different than what you would have seen 10, 15, or 20 years ago,” Binkley said. “This is a caring, therapeutic environment.”

Peggy Ray is program manager for the Arlington Community Resource Center, and similar organizations in Granite Falls and Lake Stevens.

She said she sees the need “at least daily” for people to be hospitalized for mental health problems, which often also involve drug or alcohol issues.

“There’s a huge need,” Ray said. “We’re very, very excited this hospital is opening up.”

Plans for a psychiatric hospital in Snohomish County were first announced in 2013. Letters of support were written by a variety of local people and organizations, including the Stillaguamish Tribe, the Snohomish County chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Senior Services of Snohomish County, and the mayors of Marysville and Arlington.

There are three other inpatient services for adults in Snohomish County. Fairfax Behavioral Health has 30 beds at the Pacific Campus of Providence Regional Medical Center Everett, as well as a 34-bed unit predominately for adults 55 and older at EvergreenHealth Monroe. Swedish Edmonds operates a 23-bed unit on its campus.

Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486; salyer@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

LifeWise local co-directors Darcie Hammer and Sarah Sweeny talk about what a typical classroom routine looks like on Monday, April 14, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett off-campus Bible program draws mixed reaction from parents

The weekly optional program, LifeWise Academy, takes children out of public school during the day for religious lessons.

Protesters line Broadway in Everett for Main Street USA rally

Thousands turn out to protest President Trump on Saturday in Everett, joining hundreds of other towns and cities.

An EcoRemedy employee checks a control panel of their equipment at the Edmonds Wastewater Treatment Plant on Thursday, April 17, 2025 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Edmonds launches technology to destroy PFAS

Edmonds is the first city in the country to implement… Continue reading

Over a dozen parents and some Snohomish School District students gather outside of the district office to protest and discuss safety concerns after an incident with a student at Machias Elementary School on Friday, April 18, 2025 in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Parents protest handling of alleged weapon incident at Machias Elementary

Families say district failed to communicate clearly; some have kept kids home for weeks.

Irene Pfister, left, holds a sign reading “Justice for Jonathan” next to another protester with a sign that says “Major Crimes Needs to Investigate,” during a call to action Saturday, April 12, 2025, in Arlington. (Aspen Anderson / The Herald)
Arlington community rallies, a family waits for news on missing man

Family and neighbors say more can be done in the search for Jonathan Hoang. The sheriff’s office says all leads are being pursued.

Mary Ann Karber, 101, spins the wheel during Wheel of Forunte at Washington Oakes on Tuesday, April 1, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lunch and Wheel of Fortune with some Everett swinging seniors

She’s 101 and he’s 76. At Washington Oakes, fun and friendship are on the menu.

Henry M. Jackson High School’s FIRST Robotics Competition championship robotics Team 2910 Jack in the Bot on Thursday, April 24, 2025 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek robotics team celebrates world championship win

The team — known as “Jack in the Bot” — came in first place above about 600 others at a Texas world championship event last week.

The Washington state Capitol on April 18, 2025. (Photo by Jacquelyn Jimenez Romero/Washington State Standard)
Parental rights overhaul gains final approval in WA Legislature

The bill was among the most controversial of this year’s session.

Snohomish firefighters appeal vaccine suspensions to Ninth Circuit

Despite lower court’s decision, eight men maintain their department did not properly accommodate their religious beliefs during COVID.

A rental sign seen in Everett. Saturday, May 23, 2020 (Sue Misao / Herald file)
Compromise reached on Washington bill to cap rent increases

Under a version released Thursday, rent hikes would be limited to 7% plus inflation, or 10%, whichever is lower.

A Mitsubishi Electric heat pump is installed on the wall of a home on Sep. 7, 2023, near Langley, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Kicking Gas urges households to get in line for subsidies while funds last

The climate justice group has enough funding to aid 80 households with making the transition to heat pumps and electric ranges

Everett Fire Department’s color guard Jozef Mendoza, left, and Grady Persons, right, parade the colors at the end of the ceremony on Worker’s Memorial Day on Wednesday, April 23, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Snohomish County officials honor Worker’s Memorial Day

Work-related injuries kill thousands of people nationwide every year.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.