OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Lawmakers heard a proposal to create a new mental health teaching hospital at the University of Washington Tuesday
The bill, heard by the House College and Workforce Development Committee, would create a new facility within the University of Washington with room for 150 patients receiving inpatient care under the state’s involuntary treatment act. It would also serve as a venue to train medical students in mental health care.
Backers said the facility would both add capacity to the state and create new pathways for training mental health providers.
It’s also the first bill in which the prime sponsor is House Speaker Frank Chopp, the state’s longest-serving speaker of the House who has announced he’ll be stepping down from his leadership role after the end of the legislative session. Chopp appeared before lawmakers to advocate for the bill, also a first in his time as speaker.
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