LIFELINE CONNECTIONS

Lifeline Connections is the largest provider of substance abuse and mental health treatment services in Southwest Washington, and one of the largest nonprofit agencies in the state. We aim to ensure that anyone who needs treatment for mental health or substance use conditions is able to access it, and that they receive care that is defined and driven by the individual through an evidence-based setting and treatment protocols.

Lifeline Connections is especially committed to providing Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) for people who are living with opioid use disorders. MAT is considered the gold-standard for effective response to the epidemic and Lifeline is at the forefront of making treatment available as well as ensuring primary care providers recognize and refer their patients for MAT when needed.

The agency has recently opened a crisis triage and stabilization service that bridges a critical gap for people experiencing mental health crises. Our goals are to ensure that, in the communities where we are located, people have access to compassionate, quality care that addresses the whole person and ensures they can effectively manage their chronic behavioral health disorders.

Lifeline Connections has completed CARF accreditation, a process which both improved the quality and professionalism of our work and also ensures that quality and professionalism remain. We have launched new initiatives that have recently come on line or will come on line in the next two years in response to community assessments; these include:

1) residential treatment center for pregnant and parenting women, the only one in our region
2) crisis triage & stabilization center for people experiencing acute psychiatric episodes
3) individualized treatment and recovery support via housing, employment, and social networks for people with behavioral health disorders
4) care coordination providing individualized care for people with chronic health conditions and who may need help navigating between multiple providers and managing their care
5) new outpatient offices in additional communities across the state
6) secure detox for people adjudicated as not being able to safely maintain sobriety on their own
7) expanded outpatient and school-based services for youth experiencing behavioral health disorders
8) new withdrawal management and residential treatment in a critically under-served community in Washington State

In all cases, programs undergo rigorous and continual assessment and evaluation to ensure fidelity to evidence-based programming, with an ultimate goal of improving treatment outcomes and recovery for our program participants.

The executive team consists of the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Clinical Officer and Chief Quality Officer. Senior management personnel and all staff maintain the highest level of state certification and licensing for their fields of specialty and expertise.

As the only provider of sobering, withdrawal management, residential treatment and crisis triage and stabilization for public-health clients in our largest region, our role in this community is unique and important. In our extended regions, we have built strong networks and relationships ensuring that we are able to meet the most critical behavioral healthcare needs in those communities. We are also a preferred provider for many private health plans, and these contracts have helped expand the base of clients we serve.

Because we provide the full continuum of care for people with substance use disorders, we build relationships with our patients that significantly improve their chances of success. We recognize that the majority of people living with a substance use disorder also experience a mental health disorder (and vice versa) and we assess and work to treat for both conditions concurrently when present. This approach allows us to help a greater number of people achieve sustained recovery and an improved quality of life.

We are pleased that in the past eight years we have achieved an unprecedented level of financial and organizational stability. This has allowed us to seek new growth opportunities resulting in expansions into new communities and regions, as well as remain flexible and nimble during times such as COVID-19, when we pivoted to telehealth for all outpatient clients within a few days while remaining financial stable, and even opening our largest-ever new program less than six months after the pandemic was recognized in this country. Maintaining our three-year CARF accreditation (the highest available) assures us that our efforts are in line with known standards in our industry.

We are increasingly aware of the damaging effects of stigma surrounding substance abuse and mental health disorders. Our long-term goal of changing the community culture around viewing these disorders as medical conditions, and not as behavioral or moral choices, continues to require us to be diligent about meeting our short-term and long-term goals and sharing our voice in the community on behalf of our clients.