Date and Time
Friday Jan 8, 2016
11:30 AM - 1:00 PM PST
Friday, January 8th from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Location
Fees/Admission
$20 for members prepaid
$25 for members day of event
$30 for guests
Description
January Membership Luncheon
January 8th from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
CenterPoint Rainier Room near Alki Bakery
Speaker: Ken Taylor,
CEO of Valley Cities
About the Topic: Valley Cities acquired the former Recovery Centers of King County (RCKC) building in Kent on November 19, 2015.
The Kent facility, at 505 Washington Avenue South, is located in the South King County area and is within easy access to I-5 and SR 167. Valley Cities will operate mental health evaluation and treatment services out of the facility. King County currently has a shortage of beds for involuntary psychiatric care. This facility will add 16 beds for people in mental health crisis and another 16 beds will likely be for detox services.
For more than 32 years, the this RCKC Kent location has provided mental health inpatient and outpatient treatment as well as secure inpatient detoxification services to clients composed largely of homeless and low-income persons. In early April of this year, due to lack of funding, both their Kent and Beacon Hill centers abruptly and unexpectedly shut their doors effectively ending its $1 million annual contract with King County. In May of this year RCKC filed for bankruptcy. The facility has the proper zoning and permitting to operate as a mental health treatment facility but requires an estimated $7 million in improvements to meet the state’s licensure and certification requirements. Improvements to the Kent facility will start in April 2016 with plans for the site to be operational by the end of the year. This site is ideally located in close proximity to the Valley Cities offices in downtown Kent that houses the agency’s administrative offices and provides outpatient counseling services.
Biography of Speaker: Ken Taylor joined Valley Cities as Chief Executive Officer on March 1, 2011. Prior to coming to Valley Cities, Mr. Taylor served as Director of Health Services for Washington State’s Department of Corrections managing primary and mental health services for 24,000 patients and 800 staff. Prior to this he managed the Pierce County transition from a county based system to a state managed mental health care system, insuring no disruption in services for consumers or in payments to providers. Mr. Taylor has a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Denver and over 30 years of administrative and executive leadership experience at both the state and local levels, which will help Valley Cities grow into the future. Former staff and colleagues say his style is transparent, collaborative, straight forward, and respectful.
Mr. Taylor has lead successful teams focused on child and family services as well as adult services. He stated, “One project I’m most proud of leading was the effort to create a domestic violence shelter in Chandler, Arizona. Because of our early success, talented staff, and partnership with the community My Sister’s Place continues to provide shelter and safety to thousands of people for the past 25 years.”
Don’t miss the January luncheon to learn more about this project, next steps and what it means for our community.
Members Prepaid $20, Members Day of Event $25, Guests $30
Please register at www.kentchamber.com or call us at (253) 854-1770
Sponsored by: Relay for Life