REACH is on the horizon
By Terry Murry on Friday, February 16th, 2024 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
HERMISTON – (News release from Community Counseling Solutions) A ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house for Rivers Edge Acute Center for Healing (REACH – formerly known as Aspen Springs) will be held on Thursday, March 14th from 3–7 p.m. The ribbon-cutting ceremony will begin promptly at 3 p.m. with opening remarks provided by Representative Greg Smith, Hermiston Mayor Dave Drotzman, Umatilla County Commissioner John Shafer, and Community Counseling Solutions Board Chair Mark Lemmon. Tours will be provided immediately following the ribbon cutting ceremony, until 7:00 p.m. Community Counseling Solutions (CCS) invites the public to drop by for the ceremony and/or tour the facility. Refreshments will be provided.
Kimberly Lindsay, Executive Director with CCS, is extremely pleased to announce this event. “CCS has been diligently working for several years to bring psychiatric acute care services back to Eastern Oregon. The services this facility will provide are desperately needed and will significantly benefit individuals, families, hospitals and law enforcement providers in our region as well as across the state.”
REACH is a licensed 15-bed facility. Nine beds will be for individuals experiencing acute psychiatric distress with the remaining six beds being utilized by individuals in need of longer term psychiatric residential care. Daily therapeutic services will be provided, including medication stabilization, counseling, skills training and care coordination. Funding for services will largely come from an individual’s insurance provider. The facility will provide employment to over 20 individuals, including psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners, a full complement of nursing staff, residential associates, cooks, maintenance and supervisory staff.
It is anticipated that REACH will open for business on/around April 15th. Funding to purchase the building was made possible due to the advocacy and support of Representative Greg Smith and the 2021 Oregon State Legislature. Funding for the remodel was made possible by the Oregon Health Authority and all Coordinated Care Organizations in Oregon.
