As part of its efforts to introduce more effective models of care and address the behavioral health crisis in Snohomish County, Providence Medical Group launched a behavioral health urgent care on the same campus as the Providence Regional Medical Center Colby Campus emergency department. This unique co-location of facilities allows for patients with an urgent behavioral health condition – who traditionally may have gone to the emergency department – to instead be seen in a more appropriate outpatient clinic setting.
“It is rare to have a behavioral health urgent care located on the same campus as an emergency department,” Providence Director of Behavioral Health Laura Knapp said. “We believe this is a model that will better serve behavioral health patients, and that more and more facilities will start to adopt a similar model.”
Providence Regional Medical Center’s emergency department is one of the busiest in the state, with more than 87,000 visits last year. Emergency departments are one of the most expensive places for patients to receive care, so if someone with a behavioral health emergency can instead go to the Behavioral Health Urgent Care, they can be more appropriately treated while also reducing their out-of-pocket cost.
The goal of the clinic is to address immediate behavioral health needs and help connect patients to providers in the community for ongoing care.
