After fatal car crashes, fires or other emergencies, coroners and medical examiners are among the first to respond. But unlike police, firefighters and other first responders, they’re limited in the types of workers’ compensation claims they can file when their mental health is affected. A new bill in the ...
Read MoreIn the News
A University of Washington behavioral health facility temporarily stopped admitting new patients in November — just six months after it opened. The $244 million hospital, known as UW Medicine’s Center for Behavioral Health and Learning, includes beds meant for up to 75 patients going through the state’s involuntary commitment system — ...
Read More
With dwindling federal funds and a looming state budget shortfall, Washington lawmakers are trying to figure out how to keep paying for services for crime victims. Funding for the Victims of Crime Act State Plan is projected to be cut in half by this summer. The state has backfilled that money ...
Read More
OLYMPIA, Wash. — Establishments that hold liquor licenses would be required to have drug testing devices available for customers under a proposal initiated by teenage girls.
Sixteen students from Lake Washington High School’s AP government class attended a Senate committee hearing on ...Read More
OLYMPIA — “Who’s glad they live in Washington state?” The question, asked by physician Kjersten Gmeiner, was answered with cheers and applause from a multigenerational crowd of reproductive health care advocates. Standing below a crowd of 50 people on the Capitol steps to rally in support of reproductive and gender-affirming health care, ...
Read MoreIn May, the University of Washington opened a highly anticipated $244 million behavioral health hospital, aimed largely at providing long-term care to patients involuntarily committed for mental health needs. Months later, two-thirds of the beds meant for those patients sit empty. Patients, meanwhile, are sitting in short-term facilities or ...
Read More
OLYMPIA, Wash. — New legislation in Olympia centers around date rape and drink spiking. Washington Sen. Manka Dhingra (D-Redmond) is sponsoring a bill requiring bars, nightclubs and other businesses that sell alcohol to provide date rape drug testing kits and to put up signs warning of the danger.
Read More
One of Gov.-elect Bob Ferguson’s signature campaign promises was a $100 million proposal to help local police departments recruit officers. On Thursday, the incoming governor threw his support behind a bill to accomplish exactly that. Senate Bill 5060, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Holy, R-Cheney, would send $100 million to the ...
Read More
Washington to get new hate crimes hotline next year
A new hotline to report hate crimes and bias incidents will start rolling out in Washington state in 2025. State Senator — and bill co-sponsor — Manka Dhingra says the non-emergency number will help victims to get connected to resources and start ...Read More
FOX26 Houston anchor, Rashi Vats, speaks with experts about the mental health crisis in America.
Read More
