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Southwest Washington Behavioral Health

Center for Community Health
Center for Community Health

Southwest Washington Behavioral Health (SWBH) administers and coordinates public mental services in Clark, Cowlitz and Skamania Counties. Formed October 1, 2012, SWBH operates through an inter-local agreement between the three counties.

Working collaboratively with all system stakeholders, SWBH envisions a community that encourages recovery, cultural competency, engagement, clinical excellence and access to services in a welcoming environment.

SWBH is strategically implementing system changes to align with health care reform as required through the federal Affordable Care Act and Washington state’s initiatives.

Goals of the organization include:

  • Regional implementation of best, promising, evidence-based, recovery-oriented, and culturally competent practices for children and adults.
  • Standardization and improvement of data collection on consumer and system process and outcome variables.
  • Positioning for health care reform by developing organizational capacity to respond and adapt rapidly to new system requirements and opportunities (e.g. behavioral health/primary care integration).
  • Commitment to maintaining and improving local systems of health care service delivery responsive to Southwest Washington’s distinct communities, cultures, resources and needs.
  • Local responsiveness to the needs of the people of each participating county and tribal jurisdiction, including Clark County, Cowlitz County, Skamania County, and the Cowlitz Tribe, as well as any additional jurisdictions that may join over time.

The entity has a governing board consisting of three members. Current representatives include: Commissioner David Madore, Clark County; Commissioner James Misner, Cowlitz County and Commissioner Chris Brong, Skamania County.

Primary business is conducted at the Center for Community Health, 1601 E. Fourth Plain Blvd., Building #17, Vancouver, WA, 98661.

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SWBH Mission

To build and maintain a hopeful, strength-based, collaborative and empowering system of care to help those individuals and families in Southwest Washington with complex mental health, substance use and other health needs achieve personal goals and live, work and participate in their community.

SWBH Mental Health Advisory Board Mission

The mission of the Southwest Washington Behavioral Health (SWBH) Mental Health Advisory Board (MHAB) is to advise and assist SWBH to ensure timely access to superior and effective mental health services for people in need, their families and the community. To fulfill this mission, the SWBH MHAB will:

  • Engage in advocacy to reduce stigma, increase awareness of needs and available services, promote equality in service provision, and eliminate disparities in health care;
  • Promote holistic services that emphasize prevention, build resiliency, and address adverse childhood experiences; and
  • Base decisions on sound and credible data.