Work gets underway on $947 million Western State Hospital project
Washington state leaders celebrated the groundbreaking of a $947 million forensic psychiatric hospital on the property of Western State Hospital in Lakewood on Oct. 17.
The new hospital, called the Forensic Center of Excellence, will have 350 beds to serve forensic patients who have been accused of a crime but require mental health treatment prior to trial, according to a news release.
“Today is a groundbreaking for this facility, but in a sense it’s a groundbreaking for how we provide mental health services,” Gov. Jay Inslee, who attended the groundbreaking, said in the release. “It is part and parcel to our efforts to care for our family members, our community members, who run into mental health challenges — this is a very Washingtonian thing to do.”
The hospital’s design supports holistic healing and rehabilitation, said Loren Supp, principal at global architecture firm HOK, which is designing the project.
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