Great Rivers agencies outline April 1 transition to Olympic Health for regional crisis line, ask Lewis County to back local 988 hub

Great Rivers Behavioral Health Administrative Services Organization and regional partners told the Lewis County Board of County Commissioners on March 18 that Olympic Health and Recovery Services will take over the Great Rivers regional crisis line on April 1 and that local officials should consider endorsing OHRS as a 988 hub.

The presentation, delivered by Trinidad Medina, chief executive director of Great Rivers BHASO, Drew McDaniel, CEO of Columbia Wellness, and Joe Avalos, executive director of Olympic Health and Recovery Services, described a planned operational transition and a wider state redesign that will make 988 the public-facing entry point for behavioral health emergencies. "April 1 is the official start date for Olympic Health and Recovery Services," Medina told commissioners.

The change follows state legislation and joint guidance that align the statewide crisis network with the national 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. According to presenters, Columbia Wellness currently triages nearly 4,000 crisis calls a month across the five-county Great Rivers region and elected to focus its resources on in-person mobile crisis response. "Columbia Wellness made a decision that we couldn't take 4,000 calls and put boots on the ground at the speed that we wanted to," McDaniel said.

Olympic Health and Recovery Services said it has experience running crisis lines and designated crisis…