Drug addiction hurts communities. Tri-Cities needs its own detox center | Editorial

A jail cell is no place for someone who is sick.

Yet in the Tri-Cities, the jails in both Benton and Franklin counties are often the default location for addicts needing a place to withdraw from the drugs ruining their minds and bodies.

Without medical intervention, these troubled souls usually end up back on the streets and the tragic cycle of drugs and jail continues.

Addiction hijacks the brain. It’s a disease, and people with this problem need help — not judgment and isolation.

So news that our community finally may be on its way to getting a new in-patient treatment and recovery facility is huge.

The Tri-Cities is the only major metropolitan area in Eastern Washington without a detox center. But thanks to the combined efforts of the Benton Franklin Recovery Coalition, the Kennewick Public Hospital District and other local leaders, this shameful situation is about to change.

A feasibility study funded by the hospital district and Benton and Franklin counties has confirmed that the idea to convert the old hospital in downtown Kennewick into a detox center is a solid plan.

Initially, the thought was to use the former Kennewick General Hospital building for drug recovery only, but the mission has since been wisely expanded to also include mental health services.

The benefits to the Tri-City community once this facility gets going are great.

It is expected crimes will be reduced, which will lessen the burden for law enforcement. Trips to hospital emergency rooms by addicts in crisis also will be reduced.

Treatment dollars will be kept in the Tri-Cities and it will be easier for families to help their loved ones through their recovery if they don’t have to drive hours away to a facility in another city.

Most importantly, though, a local recovery center will help Tri-Citians struggling with drug addiction and mental illness to get proper medical treatment, which will give them hope for a normal life.

After the Trios hospital fell into bankruptcy, the hospital district sold Trios Health to what is now LifePoint Health. That sale included the newer campus at Southridge and the older campus in downtown Kennewick.

LifePoint is now using part of the downtown facility as a birthing center — Trios Women’s and Children’s Hospital. But it would like to move the birthing center to its main campus at Southridge and repurpose the old hospital building, which dates back to 1952.

Turning the old hospital into a recovery center makes sense. The new detox facility will be called Two Rivers Behavioral Health Recovery Center, and once it is established, it will be financially self-supporting.

A wide range of funding sources are now being sought to get the facility acquired and renovated. The money will come from a combination of private donors, grants and local, state, and federal governments.

The hospital district is not seeking new taxes for the project.

That message is worth repeating — no new taxes are being sought.

Establishing a recovery center very well could be one of the most significant community improvements the Tri-Cities has seen in a very long time.

The broad support for the project is tremendous. Law enforcement officials from the cities and counties have said that with no detox center here, addicts either go to jail or are sent elsewhere for treatment. Neither is an ideal option.

LifePoint — the new owners of Trios Health, the counties and the Benton Franklin Recovery Coalition all deserve praise for moving this effort along. Michele Gerber, president of the recovery coalition, has been working tirelessly to see this through and much of its progress so far has been a result of her passion.

When we look back on 2020, we likely will remember COVID-19, social distancing, the lockdown and closed businesses.

But making strides toward building a place where addicts and those with mental health issues can get help locally is a major bright spot.

This project is a turning point for the community and we hope the pieces fall into place soon so that the plan can become a reality.

This story was originally published November 13, 2020 at 12:31 PM.