Crisis Stabilization Services   

The SMH Crisis Stabilization Services are designed to treat people in psychiatric crisis in a safe and supportive environment where they receive the best of care while diverting them from more intensive inpatient treatment in more restrictive treatment settings including community and state hospitals. These services are provided within SMH’s licensed Evaluation and Treatment program known as Foothills E&T and through Hartson Stabilization Services.

Foothills Evaluation and Treatment Facility (FE&T) is located at 505 East North Foothills Drive. FE&T provides assessment, observation and crisis treatment services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to anyone aged 18 or older who needs inpatient care. The primary goal of FE&T is to help bring stability to persons with mental illnesses who are at risk of self harm and/or gravely disabled, as well as prevent long term psychiatric hospitalization in a state hospital.

FE&T is licensed as an involuntary treatment facility; however, it serves individuals in either voluntary or involuntary status. FE&T also provides people with a safe place to receive treatment and link them with resources to help resolve their mental health issues. FE&T offers short-term acute care regardless of the financial status of individuals who seek help.

FE&T provides medication management, education, and supportive psychotherapy to help consumers who experience a mental health crisis. It also employs trained professionals who will listen to consumers and in turn assist them in making plans to improve their health status.

Hartson Stabilization Services (HSS) can be accessed through Spokane Mental Health's Crisis Response Services (CRS). HSS provides assessment, observation and crisis stabilization treatment services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to anyone aged 18 or older who voluntarily seeks assistance. The primary goal of HSS is to help bring stability to people in crisis, divert them from unnecessary psychiatric hospitalization and link them to resources in the community that will help them retain their stability.

Individuals typically stay at HSS for two to three days, but if necessary, they may stay longer. A primary goal of HSS is to help individuals resolve their crises as quickly as possible and return to the community. Shortly after arriving at HSS, SMH staff begin assessing individual needs and seeking resources in the community to help meet those needs. Discharge plans are designed to help each person make a smooth transition to discharge and to maintain stability in the community.