Crisis care facility breaks ground
Berl Tiskus
Groundbreakers for the Lake House, a critical care mental health facility, use their golden shovels to raise some dust.
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POLSON — Groundbreaking has been a long time coming for Lake House, an eight-bed mental health crisis care facility, but Western Montana Mental Health Center staffers were joined by well-wishers at a groundbreaking on May 20.
“We’re hoping for the facility to be open in December or January,” said Paul Meyer, WMMHC Missoula director, as he welcomed people to the event.
“Mental health issues are race neutral,” Kevin Howlett said. Howlett is the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes director of health and human services.
James Kiser, chief executive office of Providence St. Joseph Medical Center, agreed with Howlett and said the facility will fill a tremendous need in the community.
Former Lake County Commissioner Paddy Trusler served on the WMMHC board for 10 years, and for six of those he’d been advocating for a facility in Lake County. Lake County Commissioner Gale Decker continued the fight.
“Patty Kent — she’s a bulldog,” Trusler said, crediting Kent, the WMMHC housing and development director, with never giving up on Lake House.
Currently a person undergoing a mental health crisis might end up in jail or in the hospital, neither of which are equipped to deal with their condition. Lake House will provide secure, voluntary, community-based crisis stabilization for people with serious or life-threatening mental issues.
The new facility will be located north of Providence St. Joseph Medical Center. The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, Lake County, Providence St. Joseph’s Medical Center, the Greater Polson Community Foundation, the Providence Foundation and the Lower Flathead Valley Community Foundation all contributed to the center.
