The Kings County Behavioral Health Department is hoping to secure state funding that will allow the county to create a care center for mental health crises by renovating the vacated Public Health buildings on Lacey Boulevard.
If awarded the funds, the county will be able to complete the circuit of care needed in the community to address mental health crises appropriately, KCBH officials said.
The Kings County Board of Supervisors received information regarding the potential for funding earlier this week during a presentation given by Behavioral Health Deputy Director Christi Lupkes and Behavioral Health Director Lisa Lewis.
The two women explained the state will open a request for applications for funding through the Bond Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program (BCHIP). BCHIP is funding from the state to invest in behavioral health infrastructure, and the county intends to apply with Good Samaritan Hospital as a co-applicant in a public-private collaboration.
The BCHIP application would include plans to renovate the currently vacant Public Health buildings into an adult crisis stabilization unit, psychiatric health facility, and crisis residential treatment facility.
“Kings County Behavioral Health is well positioned to apply for this round of funding to address gaps between mobile crisis services and outpatient services,” said Lupkes. “This really nestles into that middle ground to be able to help individuals through their crisis here in the community.”
The project would be large enough for the psychiatric health facility and the crisis residential treatment facility to start with eight beds each with options to expand to 16 beds per facility in the future. Fencing will be placed around the facility for the privacy and safety of those using the campus services.
“The individuals who will utilize these facilities are primarily served in this area currently. They are served through Adventist Health ER and the county outpatient adult mental health clinic operated by Kings View on Bailey Drive which also houses the crisis program,” said Lupkes. “These BCHIP facilities will simply aid these individuals and these entities by providing a more appropriate local level of care support to better serve those individuals in crisis instead of them being served through the Adventist Health ER and the Bailey Drive address. At least it is a start.”
Because the proposed project would be across from Hanford West High School, the county plans to meet with Hanford West and district staff so they are aware of the project and any potential impacts it may have on the school.
Ken Baird, who works with the Kings County Mental Health Family Support Group, said that he was excited about the project presentation because, through his experience participating in the support group, the one common issue brought up most often is the lack of local mental health facilities. Baird said the absence of such facilities presents a struggle for families trying to show support for their loved ones.
“It is hard to convey how stressful it is to have someone you love experience a mental health crisis and then find out that the facilities that they can go to are two, three or more hours away…,” said Baird. “Having these proposed facilities in Kings County will improve outcomes for those experiencing mental illness and will lessen the burden on their families.”
When the Supervisors began discussing the matter, Chairman Doug Verboon said that he was looking forward to the project beginning and hoped that the county would meet all of the requirements to receive funding.
Vice Chairman Rusty Robinson asked if county staff anticipates any impacts on the surrounding properties. Lewis said that the use of the building is nearly perfectly designed for this project and that feedback from the community has been positive with a few concerns raised about security.
When asked about the plan for renovation, Public Work Director Dominic Tyburski explained that part of the remodeling construction could include completely demolishing a few of the existing buildings as they are over 50 years old. Tyburski said that there is potential for additional grant funding in the future for the full replacement of all the buildings, but that the anticipated project budget has room for either total renovation to meet seismic requirements or demolition and complete construction of new buildings.
Supervisor Joe Neves said he would like to see some of the brick and mortar preserved but isn’t married to the idea.
“There are a lot of positives about that structure, but I just want to make sure that we explore all the negative and be able to be set up for the next 30 or 40 years in a trouble-free environment,” said Neves.
The BCHIP application is due by Dec. 13, with awards to be announced in May 2025. A community meeting regarding the proposed project will be held on Oct. 29 at the Behavioral Health office.