Lourdes Counseling Center in Richland is one of three psychiatric hospitals in the state selected for a project designed to expand emergency psychiatric services to low-income patients.
Ten states, including Washington, will participate in the Medicaid Emergency Psychiatric Demonstration project to test whether people on Medicaid who have psychiatric emergencies get more immediate and appropriate care when the hospitals receive Medicaid reimbursement.
The District of Columbia also is participating.
Hospitals in the 10 states and Washington, D.C., will receive federal Medicaid matching money over three years for emergency psychiatric services, according to the Department of Social and Health Services.
The money is intended to stabilize Medicaid-eligible patients ages 21 to 64 who are experiencing a crisis that could result in harming themselves or others.
Washington state will get $4.3 million per year during that time, which will be divided between Fairfax Hospital and Navos Mental Health, both in King County, and Lourdes.
Lourdes is the only Eastern Washington hospital that will receive money.
No information was available Tuesday on how much money will come to Lourdes.
Comments