U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen toured the Ituha Stabilization Facility in Oak Harbor on Wednesday, the first of several visits he made that day to discuss the local impacts of the federal law formerly known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill” with various Island County leaders.
Withdrawal management stabilization — or, detoxing — is the first step for many on the “journey to recovery” from addiction, as Cindy Buske, a nursing supervisor at the facility, explained. Since opening in 2021, the facility helps those struggling with addiction as well as mental health crises find their footing before moving to a long-term program elsewhere.
Patients are admitted voluntarily, sometimes dropped off by law enforcement and human services, and typically reside at the facility for three to five days at a time, Buske said. The facility has 10 beds and a living space.
As Rowell Dela Cruz, a clinical SVD manager at the facility, explained, “a lot of inpatient programs prefer to take patients out of withdrawal management programs because they know they’ve already been detoxed and can start the programming right away.”
Pioneer Human Services, the company operating the facility, plans to open a new, 48-bed facility in Sedro-Woolley. The Ituha Stabilization Facility could also be expanded to 16 beds within the next year.
To what extent budget cuts outlined in the statute could affect those plans, as well as normal operation at the Ituha facility, remains to be seen. The only certainty is Pioneer’s concern.
According to a press release from Larsen’s team, “Medicaid is the single largest payer for behavioral health services, including mental health and substance use services,” and the statute “makes the largest funding cut to Medicaid in U.S. history.”
Clinton Jordan, vice president of clinical and reentry programs at Pioneer, admitted during a Zoom call with Larsen on Wednesday that it is “hard to imagine that any cuts are going to be easily absorbed” and expressed his concern that Pioneer’s “more rural locations would be the most impacted” — like the Ituha facility.
Jordan emphasized the crisis model used at the facility has a track record of success keeping patients from being incarcerated and out of emergency rooms, but the model does not work without funding. Any diversions from the model would still be useful, but the facility would not be functioning exactly as intended.
Buske and Dela Cruz shared Jordan’s concern, especially given the success the facility has had in helping those struggling with addiction and mental health crises.
“(Patients) learn that when they’re here,” Buske said, “it may not be as direct (of a) route to jail as they think it’s going to be.”
Larsen also visited with Shannon Leatherwood, superintendent of the Coupeville School District.
In a statement provided to the News-Times on Thursday, Leatherwood said Larsen’s visit aligned with recent news about the release of federal funding which had previously been withheld. According to a press release from Larsen’s team, “the Department of Education released more than $12 million in funding to Northwest Washington state school districts” last month, an effort Larsen was a part of.
The need for “additional mental health resources” was also discussed Wednesday, which Larsen was “receptive to.”
“We’re grateful for Representative Larsen’s continued advocacy for public education and his willingness to engage directly with local school leadership,” read the statement. “His visit demonstrates his commitment to understanding the real needs of our community and working to address them at the federal level.”
Photo by Allyson Ballard
(Photo by Allyson Ballard) Nursing Supervisor Cindy Buske gave U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen a tour of the stabilization facility, the first step on the “journey to recovery” for many patients.
(Photo provided) Coupeville School District Superintendent Shannon Leatherwood, pictured here with Larsen and Board Director Chic Merwine, was “honored to host” the representative.
