The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors has signed a Memorandum of Understanding which will allow Mad River Community Hospital to begin design and construction of the Behavioral Health Crisis Triage Center on its campus in Arcata. 

Driven by the need for mental health crisis triage services in Humboldt County, the Crisis Triage Center will include a sobering center, mental health care and crisis stabilization. The facility will serve people of all ages, regardless of insurance, with stays ranging from less than 24 hours to 90 days.

Humboldt County Department of Health & Human Services Director Connie Beck said she is grateful for the hard work and collaboration from so many partners that has helped move this project forward.

“Sen. McGuire and our state representatives helped secure a large portion of funding, Mad River Community Hospital CEO Doug Shaw and his team are providing the location for this facility to be built, our Board of Supervisors approved a multimillion-dollar match so that we could secure the needed grant. Additionally, Cal Poly Humboldt’s Executive Director of Initiatives Connie Stewart not only brought our teams together and provided her expertise and assistance so we could truly understand the gaps and needs in our systems, but also took lead on the grant application and the gathering of other funding to make this a reality. And finally, I am grateful for the Behavioral Health teams in the county and our community who will support this work to be successful. If not for all these players, we would not be here today.”

In June 2023, the California Department of Health Care Services awarded Mad River Community Hospital $12.3 million through the Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program’s Round 5: Crisis and Behavioral Health Continuum. Mad River Community Hospital is constructing the facility on its campus, while the county allocated $2.6 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act, a grant from the County Medical Services Program and Opioid Settlement money. 

Shaw said, “This will have a substantial impact on the Behavioral Health offerings for our community as a whole. We hope to be able to share preliminary designs with the community early next year.”

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