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Gov. Jay Inslee, state officials break ground on new 350‑bed forensic hospital at Western State Hospital
Summary
Gov. Jay Inslee, DSHS leadership and construction partners marked the start of a 350‑bed forensic hospital at Western State Hospital, citing shorter transfer times from jails, expanded capacity, and a green building design that targets LEED Gold and includes 72 EV chargers.
Gov. Jay Inslee joined state officials, hospital leaders and contractor representatives at a groundbreaking ceremony at Western State Hospital to mark the start of construction on a new 350‑bed forensic hospital.
Tyler Hemstreet of the Office of Communications opened the program and introduced speakers, including Elma Meneses, secretary of the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS); Mark Thompson, chief executive officer of the Gage Center for Forensic Excellence; and Eric Olsen, senior vice president at Clark Construction.
"This is a good day for the state of Washington," Gov. Inslee said, calling the event both "groundbreaking on a building" and "groundbreaking on how we provide behavioral health services." He praised the union trades who will build the project and framed the hospital as part of a broader strategy to expand treatment options across the state.
In remarks that outlined the need for additional capacity, Inslee said orders for DSHS competency services rose roughly 60 percent between 2018 and 2023, including a roughly 40 percent increase from 2021 to 2022. He said transfer times that in some cases once took as long as nine months are now averaging about five days, and that the number of people waiting in county jails for treatment has fallen "from over 500 Washingtonians" to about a dozen, figures he credited to recent investments and system changes.
Elma Meneses, DSHS secretary, thanked the legislature, local elected officials and tribal leaders, and said recent projects such as the Olympic Heritage facility helped reduce waitlists for forensic patients. Meneses also noted fundraising tied to the hospital: she said a $100,000 donation in memory of a former patient, Christy Parson, will support patient services and that proceeds from commemorative bricks will go to that fund.
Mark Thompson said the new hospital will support ongoing work to meet timelines in the True Blood settlement and to advance Governor Inslee's vision for transforming mental‑health care at Western State. "We have been substantially compliant with that settlement at Western State for several months now," Thompson said.
Eric Olsen, representing Clark Construction, thanked project and state partners, named preconstruction leads and emphasized the contractor's commitment to job‑site safety and delivering the facility. Olsen noted the many trade workers who will do the on‑site construction work and called on the assembled crowd to acknowledge those crews.
Officials described a number of design and sustainability targets for the building: the project is being planned as net‑zero ready, with an energy‑use intensity stated to be about 50 percent below otherwise applicable federal standards; an all‑electric design with heat‑pump domestic water heaters; an anticipated LEED Gold health‑care certification; and 72 electric‑vehicle charging stations on site. Clark and state representatives also noted that Clark and partners demolished 12 existing buildings to clear the site.
The formal program ended with a ceremonial shovel line and photo opportunity. Officials did not provide a construction completion date during the ceremony.
The state and its construction partners described the hospital as intended to expand capacity for forensic patients, reduce time spent waiting in county jails for treatment, and provide modern, trauma‑informed care in a facility designed to lower energy use and incorporate outdoor, nature‑inspired elements.
