LAKEWOOD—Washington Governor Jay Inslee, joined by several state leaders, broke ground on the new Forensic Center of Excellence of the Western State Hospital campus on Thursday, October 17, which will provide 350 beds when it opens in 2029.
“Today is a groundbreaking for this facility, but in a sense it’s a groundbreaking for how we provide mental health services,” said Inslee. “It is part and parcel of our efforts to care for our family members, our community members, who run into mental health challenges — this is a very Washingtonian thing to do.”
Forensic patients are those accused of a crime ordered by a court to receive treatment before trial.
Western State Hospital is one of Washington’s oldest psychiatric hospitals originally built in 1871, nearly 20 years before Washington was a state. The original building was demolished in 1886 and replaced with the structure that exists today a year later…