The opening of the Columbia Valley Center for Recovery in April will bring more than the first inpatient, residential behavioral health facility to the Mid-Columbia.

It also will usher in a new model of care for those struggling with mental illness and substance use disorder in the state.

Yakima-based Comprehensive Healthcare will operate the recovery center once it opens its doors this spring. The health care provider already serves thousands of people each year in the Tri-Cities via its Kennewick crisis center and another care center in Pasco.

Officials with the private nonprofit told the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business the new $23 million recovery center offers an opportunity to put a full community-based suite of mental health care services and supports into practice. It’s an approach that Comprehensive Healthcare has worked for years to make a reality and says will lead to successful outcomes for more patients.

“It’s definitely been a need in our area for sure,” said Laurie Schoffstall, the nonprofit’s Benton and Franklin counties director. “It’s nice to have an abundance of services coming our way.”

Construction of the recovery center began in November 2024, funded by local tax dollars and state and federal grants. It will be located at Trios Health’s former downtown Kennewick hospital at 216 W. 10th Ave., which has been vacant since 2017 after Trios shifted all its operations to its Southridge area campus.

The nearly 200,000-square-foot former hospital required an extensive remodel to make it suitable for residential treatment and crisis stabilization for prospective patients. The team of architects, engineers and builders scrutinized everything from the electrical and plumbing systems to the HVAC, entry controls and structural integrity before making necessary updates and upgrades.

But while the work to secure funding, design and construction has been in the public eye, efforts to make the care provided at the facility equally as transformative have gone on in the background.

Columbia Center Rotary contributed $250,000 for the development of the Family Room at the Columbia Valley Center for Recovery.

| Photo by Nathan Finke

Model of care

Comprehensive Healthcare has spent eight years working toward adopting the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic, or CCBHC, model of care.

Established by Congress in 2014 and first launched in a handful of states in 2017, CCBHCs must offer 24/7 crisis response, a wide range of mental health and substance use services, and coordinate care and support via local hospitals, primary care providers, law enforcement and community partners.

Critically, such facilities also provide services to all who enter their doors, regardless of insurance coverage status or ability to pay.

Medicaid and grants from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration support their operations.

A behavioral health sales tax levied in Benton and Franklin counties also will help pay for the recovery center going forward.

“As an integrated and sustainably financed model for care delivery, the CCBHC model alleviates decades-old challenges that have led to a crisis in providing access to mental health and addiction care,” according to a statement on the website for National Council for Mental Wellbeing.

In late 2025, Comprehensive Healthcare’s work paid off when it was one of 10 health care providers selected by the state for its pilot of the care model.

“We believe deeply in the philosophy and vision behind the CCBHC model, and it’s an honor to be selected as a pilot site,” said Jodi Daly, Comprehensive Healthcare’s CEO, in a statement. “Becoming a CCBHC isn’t just a recognition – it’s a strategic leap forward, and we’re proud to continue making meaningful change for our communities.”

Patient rooms in each treatment unit at the Columbia Valley Center for Recovery feature furniture that can be secured to floors and walls to prevent patients from barricading themselves inside.

| Photo by Nathan Finke

Staffing up

The health care provider plans to double its Tri-City staffing to 140 once the recovery center opens, helping to address the growing demand for services but also facilitate better coordination and support of patients during and after treatment.

Comprehensive Healthcare served nearly 4,900 people through its two Tri-City facilities in fiscal year 2025. That’s roughly double how many they served during the same period in fiscal year 2023, Schoffstall said.

Since it began moving toward the CCBHC model, it's also seen improved participation in services from those being screened for substance use disorder and more consistent engagement with those connecting with crisis services.

“We know engagement is important,” said Natalie McGillen, Comprehensive Healthcare’s chief of special projects and CCBHC readiness. “When we engage quickly, people feel connected and they’re more likely to stay in treatment.”

A 2024 report to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services by Mathematica Policy Research and RAND Corporation found that states where CCBHCs operated had consistently increased the number of people accessing care and offered more forms of treatment than non-CCBHC facilities.

“Officials from multiple states shared the perception that CCBHCs provide higher-quality care than other providers, citing the commitment to care coordination and the requirement to offer evidence-based practices as primary attributes of the model that improve quality,” according to the report. “Officials also generally perceived quality of care provided by CCBHCs improved over time, re-emphasizing the model’s expanded offerings and noting improvements in performance on quality measures.”

Another 2024 report from the National Council on Mental Wellbeing found that most CCHBCs also help support patient needs with non-health care issues that often affect mental health, such as access to stable housing.

CCBHCs are still facing challenges with a problem universal to health care: staffing. The Mathematica/RAND report found that “nearly 90% of CCBHCs reported difficulties with staffing and workforce development when asked about challenges related to access to care, almost to the exclusion of any other challenges.”

For now, Comprehensive Healthcare is just focused on being as ready as possible to welcome anyone who needs care when the recovery center opens its doors.

“One thing that Comprehensive does well – we look for what’s needed in the community,” Schoffstall said.