Tumwater approves contract with Olympic Health & Recovery for 24/7 mobile crisis outreach

The Tumwater City Council voted unanimously to authorize a service provider agreement with Olympic Health & Recovery Services to staff a city mobile outreach crisis team, a co-responder model that pairs a crisis clinician and a peer-support navigator with local first responders.

Fire Department leadership introduced the agreement and said the program follows 2023 state legislation enabling community-based crisis teams to operate alongside fire and EMS services. The city will host an Olympic Health and Recovery team, which will monitor dispatch, respond to behavioral-health calls and provide community outreach. Fire staff said the team will have 24-hour coverage and will be supported operationally through the fire department.

Joe Avalos, representing Olympic Health and Recovery Services, described the program as a regional effort with existing programs in surrounding jurisdictions. "We've been looking forward to this partnership... we're excited to be one of those and partnering with Tumwater," Avalos told the council. Timothy Lewis, the outreach program manager for Olympic Health and Recovery, also attended and answered technical questions.

Council members asked how the new team would coordinate with other local programs such as FD Cares and how the team would track individuals who move among jurisdictions. Olympic Health and Recovery responded that its information systems cover multiple counties and partner providers and that the team will coordinate with hospitals, ERs and neighboring jurisdictions to avoid duplicative responses.

The city will provide office and landing space for the team (a vacant unit on Lee Street was cited) and the responders will be dispatched through the city's dispatch system with the ability to see 911 call notes. The program will use a co-responder model; staff said the team will be able to transport people who are voluntary to appropriate resources, and it can facilitate involuntary admissions when legally required. Avalos said South Sound Behavioral Hospital accepts voluntary and involuntary patients and that Olympic Health and Recovery employs designated crisis responders who can initiate involuntary admission processes when necessary.

Council member Gavi moved to authorize the agreement; Council member Von Holtz seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Clarifying details and implementation notes from the discussion: the co-responder teams will include a crisis clinician and a peer-support navigator; 24-hour coverage was stated; the program's operational start date was discussed as October 1; Olympic Health and Recovery will coordinate with regional hospitals and crisis systems; transport to emergency departments or voluntary facilities remains an option; inpatient bed availability was identified as a regional constraint but not a barrier to beginning outreach and follow-up services.

Authorities referenced: 2023 state legislation enabling community-based crisis teams (as described by fire staff); South Sound Behavioral Hospital was cited as a regional receiving facility. The council took formal action and authorized the agreement at the meeting; no details of the contract price were discussed during the public portion of the presentation.

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