Frontier retained as Spokane region 988 hub; state outlines July 1 realignment

Jessica Thompson, facilitator of the Spokane Regional Crisis Collaborative, turned the meeting over to Katie Lindstorm of the Washington State Department of Health for an update on the state's 988 hub designations. Lindstorm said Frontier Behavioral Health was selected to continue serving the Spokane region as its 988 hub and showed a coverage map illustrating the new statewide assignments.

Lindstorm said the change leaves most of the Spokane region's service arrangement unchanged but reassigns some areas previously covered by Volunteers of America (VOA) to other providers elsewhere in the state. She said the redesignation will create vertical alignment in most regions so the same organization will serve as the 988 hub and the regional crisis line (RCL), which she said should streamline handoffs between 988 and local response partners.

Lindstorm also told the collaborative that statewide text and chat contacts will continue to enter a statewide queue handled by Crisis Connections and VOA and that VOA will continue to provide Native and strong lifeline services. Plans to port existing RCL 1-800 numbers into the 988 platform are "on hold" pending budget decisions and additional regional planning.

Looking ahead, Lindstorm outlined priorities for the next six months: onboarding designated hubs, developing training and protocols, integrating ASOs and RCLs where appropriate, and completing a 988 hub readiness assessment tool to be used by DOH to gauge regional readiness and required supports. She said the effective date for the new coverage assignments is July 1 and that DOH would continue follow-up with regional partners, including a scheduled meeting with Frontier later the same day.

Local providers on the call said Spokane's preexisting vertical integration has already supported growth in 988 utilization. Tanya, speaking for Frontier, said Frontier was "honored to continue providing the 988 hub" for the Spokane region and looked forward to participating in the readiness work. Lindstorm left the meeting after the update and materials were offered for distribution to the collaborative.