Highlights | New jobs and model of care
- The new Center for Behavioral Health and Learning will be a teaching facility devoted to caring for individuals with behavioral health, medical and surgical conditions.
- The center is located on the UW Medical Center – Northwest campus.
- Set to open in 2024, the center is actively recruiting candidates for clinical and nonclinical positions.
UW Medicine is actively recruiting candidates for clinical and nonclinical positions at the new Center for Behavioral Health and Learning.
Located on the UW Medical Center – Northwest campus, the center will be a state-of-the-art teaching facility devoted to caring for individuals with behavioral health, medical and surgical problems. It will open in phases between April and July 2024 and will have approximately 260 employees when fully operational.
The six-story building has been designed to promote well-being, healing and learning for patients, staff, visitors and trainees in a welcoming and safe environment. It will be home to a full continuum of clinical services and interdisciplinary training programs.
“This is a landmark opportunity for UW Medicine to have a lasting impact on how we care for patients and families with behavioral health needs,” says Jürgen Unützer, MD, chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. “The new center will also be an exceptional environment to train and inspire the next generation of behavioral health professionals for our state.”
Building our workforce
The center is currently hiring nurses, nurse practitioners, physicians, engineers, technicians, security officers and environmental services staff. If you know someone that would be a good addition to the UW Medicine team, please refer them to these open requisitions. For future listings, please check regularly on UW Medicine Careers.
“One of the most rewarding aspects of working at the center will be its multidisciplinary team environment,” says Ryan Kimmel, MD, chief of psychiatry at UW Medical Center. “The new facility will have large rooms where students and staff from different specialties can meet and share different perspectives. Giving trainees an experience in a first-class facility where they can see patients getting better will help us recruit more people into the field.”
Improving behavioral health
In support of expanding vital behavioral health services, Governor Jay Inslee and the Washington State Legislature allocated $244 million to fund construction of the center at UW Medical Center – Northwest. With this funding, state leaders have also recognized UW Medicine’s expertise and important role in caring for patients and training the next generation of healthcare professionals.
The center is connected to the rest of the UW Medical Center – Northwest campus with accessible walking paths. It will have a cafeteria for staff and visitors as well as conference rooms on the ground floor.
Patient care services will include:
- An outpatient clinic for neuromodulation services, including transcranial magnetic stimulation and electroconvulsive therapy.
- Medical/surgical beds for behavioral health patients who require hospitalization for a medical condition.
- Inpatient beds for geriatric behavioral healthcare and long-term involuntary civil commitment care. These areas will have a residential feel with private and semiprivate spaces, ample daylight and secure outdoor patient terraces to promote serenity, comfort and healing.
“I want to thank the UW Medicine and University of Washington project teams along with our state and labor partners for their hard work during more than five years of planning and construction to make this new center a reality,” says UW Medicine CEO Cindy Hecker. “We are creating a new model of care for hospital-based behavioral health services that will advance our mission to improve the health of the public.”
Resources
Please see the following links for more information about the Center for Behavioral Health and Learning:
