ISLAND COUNTY: Hospital’s behavioral health care is seeing positive results

Luisa Loi reports from the Island County Board of Health meeting of Tue., Dec. 17, 2024 for the Whidbey News-Times.

WhidbeyHealth is making significant strides in addressing the island’s need for mental health services.

Garth Miller, the hospital’s chief operating officer, said WhidbeyHealth was awarded a $2.7 million federal grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration in 2023, money that allowed the hospital to offer behavioral health care starting in the spring of that same year.

“It’s well known to pretty much everybody on the island that there’s been a vacuum in availability of behavioral health services on Whidbey Island,” Miller said during a meeting with the Island County Board of Health on Dec. 17.

Rachel Tampa, manager of behavioral health services, told the board the behavioral health staff is growing and includes nurse practitioners, therapists, social workers and administrative support staff.

They Said It

Commissioner Janet St. Clair said she was glad the program can serve older residents who have dual insurance.