Retrofitted unit on Maple Lane Campus begins accepting new patients
February 23, 2024
DSHS Office of Communications
Tyler Hemstreet
tyler.hemstreet@dshs.wa.gov
(564) 201–0027
(ROCHESTER) — The Maple Lane Campus reached another milestone achievement this week, accepting its first group of patients to a retrofitted wing on the eastern wing of the campus.
When at capacity, Columbia Unit will serve 30 people in need of inpatient psychiatric care who have been found not guilty by reason of insanity and who have made substantial progress in their treatment.
Patients who arrived at Columbia this week were transferred from Olympic Heritage Behavioral Health in Tukwila. The Maple Lane project is one of several campus-wide — a targeted approach by the Department of Social and Health Services’ Behavioral Health Administration to add bed capacity to better serve the increasing numbers of people waiting for behavioral health services. This is the first unit on Maple Lane strictly dedicated to treating the NGRI population.
“I want to thank our contactors, BHA’s Project Management and IT departments, and the many DSHS staff members who worked hard to help bring Columbia online,” said Tony Bowie, executive officer for the Maple Lane and Brockmann campuses. “We believe we have built a therapeutic and relaxing environment for this new patient population at Maple Lane that will play a key role in their treatment progression.”
Different colored acoustic baffles highlight each of the four wings of the retrofitted former competency restoration ward. Crews deconstructed a large control station in the center of the ward, creating an open and bright milieu area for patients and staff to gather.
Additionally, all the patient rooms received a significant makeover, creating a more residential feel, Bowie said.
“We replaced the correctional-style furniture with warmer, therapeutic beds, desks and shelving,” he said.
A person is found not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI) when the court determines they were not able to tell right from wrong due to their mental state at the time of the offense. The person experienced severe symptoms of mental illness at the time of the offense, which impaired their ability to perceive reality or think clearly. For example, they may have suffered from delusions or hallucinations that directly led them to commit the offense.
If the court acquits the person as NGRI, then they are committed to the custody of DSHS and are most likely to be admitted to a DSHS state hospital for treatment. Maple Lane Campus — Columbia Unit will now be an additional facility to which those acquitted as NGRI may be admitted for treatment.
Elsewhere on the campus, phase 1 of a soft renovation to the Baker Unit is estimated to be done later this year. The second phase, a full renovation, is due to be completed in late 2025, with the first patient expected in early 2026.
Construction work at the Chelan Unit is scheduled to be completed by spring of 2025, with the first patient coming in late summer.