‘A dream’ for families in need. Tri-Cities recovery center ready to open
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Hundreds gathered to celebrate the opening of Columbia Valley Center for Recovery.
- It will be the region’s first public inpatient treatment and recovery center center.
- 144 full‑time jobs will be supported at full build out. Opening in May.
Tri-Cities community leaders, families and advocates got their first look inside the region’s first public comprehensive treatment facility for substance abuse and behavioral health at a Friday event.
Ribbons were cut and speeches were made to mark the grand opening of the Columbia Valley Center for Recovery, set to officially open May 1.
The event drew several hundred people, mostly from Eastern Washington. Matt Rasmussen, Benton County’s deputy administrator, said the region’s first inpatient treatment and recovery center will be a place for “hope, for healing and for peace.”
Elijah Stenehjem, 23, of Madison, Wisconsin, flew out for the day’s event. He eyed a plaque dedicating the facility to his father, James Stenehjem, who died in 2014 from a drug addiction.
Wearing a button of his father’s face, Stenehjem said he wished he had been more part of this process. But he’s happy how the community has come together to accomplish this “extremely inspiring” milestone.
He gave kudos to his grandmother, Dr. Michele Gerber, president of the Benton Franklin Recovery Coalition, for working tirelessly to get his father’s name prominently affixed to the building’s exterior.
“It was difficult,” Stenehjem said of his father’s death. “I only got to see him a couple times a year for a little bit, a few weeks out of the year, but they were my favorite times. Best memories ever were always made when I was out here, we would go on adventures and do fun stuff.”
Leaders hope the $50 million facility will saves lives and that Southeast Washington families will be able to make more memories with their loved ones going through drug or mental health struggles. The need is there — on average, one Tri-Cities resident loses their life to addiction about every five days.
Gerber said the recovery center will bring affordable services closer to home for Tri-City families in need. The project represents the “will and determination” of the community to see a need, come together and bring “a dream and necessary service” into reality.
Though taxpayers approved a small sales tax to fund its operations, the center will save taxpayers in the long run and make the Tri-Cities safer and more hygienic, she said.
“This recovery center moves drug addiction and mental illness out of the shadows of disgrace, guilt and stigma, and into the realm of modern medicine,” she said. “Addiction is one of the last diseases to be freed from the old notions of moral failing, bad parenting, sin and dishonor. Too many sick and hurting people have been lost because of these mistaken historical beliefs.”
“Hope and belief and potential are what get people well — not shame and blame,” she concluded.
What services are offered?
Columbia Valley Center for Recovery is being opened over two phases at the old Kennewick General Hospital campus, and will offer four core services once complete: crisis relief, crisis stabilization, co-occuring residential treatment, and secure withdrawal management.
On May 1, provider Comprehensive Healthcare will begin full operations of the co-occurring residential treatment center, a unit for longer-term substance abuse treatment, often for patients who need mental health treatment.
Both the crisis relief and crisis stabilization centers will also open, but at partial capacity for sustainable staffing and operations. The relief center provides short-term, rapid behavioral health support, while the stabilization center is a 16-bed unit for longer stays.
By July 1, these services will operate at full capacity and the Center for Recovery will begin service in the secure withdrawal management unit, where patients will be assessed, stabilized and cared for while detoxing.
The Center for Recovery will use a “no wrong door” model, serving individuals regardless of their condition, circumstances or ability to pay. At full build out, it will support 144 full-time jobs in health care and support staff, with room to expand.
Spokane-based Bouten Construction served as the general contractor.
‘Speaks volumes to the Tri-Cities’
The facility is the result of five years of work for Benton County commissioners, and a lifetime for advocates and families in need, said Rasmussen.
“It’s a place where people in crisis can receive the care they need in an environment designed specifically for them. And with our ‘no wrong door’ philosophy and our 10-minute drop-off goal, we’re giving law enforcement and first responders the ability to bring people here and quickly turn around to their duties. That strengthens public safety for everyone,” he said.
It also marks a moment of economic recovery for the area south of downtown, which felt a rippling effect after Trios Health relocated to Southridge. Benton County purchased the old Kennewick General Hospital building in 2022 from LifePoint Health.
Through partnerships with local nonprofits, workforce organizations and colleges, the facility will also offer training, internships and job placement assistance to strengthen the local workforce.
Rasmussen said treatment is “more effective, more humane and far more cost-effective” than punitive actions, saving about $5-7 for every $1 that’s invested.
“For too long individuals in behavioral health crisis have ended up in jail or the emergency room, not because it was what they needed but because it was the only option,” Rasmussen said.
The project broke ground in November 2024, and took 870 days to deliver, said Benton County construction manager Riley Ollero.
The Benton Franklin Recovery Coalition raised $3 million in community donations to contribute to this center. The building’s purchase and renovation was also funded with millions of dollars from the Legislature, Congress and Benton County.
“I think in the end we’re always judged on how we treat our fellow human beings, and this speaks volumes to the Tri-Cities and what they’re willing to do. I’m just very happy,” said Benton Commissioner Jerome Delvin.
John Schlenske, division chief of substance use disorder with Comprehensive Healthcare, said they’ll follow through on their promise to provide service that revitalizes hope, and promised that there will be room for patients who need service.
“If you present here, we’re going to help you. We’re going to help you empathetically, we’re going to help you filled with respect, we’re going to treat you like human beings,” he said.
Benton County was presented with two recognitions to commemorate the day.
Kennewick Mayor Jason McShane presented a city proclamation declaring April 17 as Columbia Valley Center for Recovery Day. And retired Benton County Prosecutor Andy Miller read a letter of commendation from Gov. Bob Ferguson, who gave his thanks to the community for serving their fellow Washingtonians in need.
