Washington bill would help secure federal funding for Spokane’s Maddie’s Place

OLYMPIA – A treatment center in Spokane caring for infants born to mothers struggling with addiction is at the center of a new bill that aims to fund studies for neonatal health.

Heard by a Washington Senate committed on Friday, the bill would direct the state to submit a plan to ensure Medicaid plans cover the entirety of treatment.

Maddie’s Place in Spokane, which opened in 2022, offers care for infants exposed to substances in the womb. The facility is one of only a few in the nation that provide that kind of care, said Maddie’s Place CEO Shaun Cross.

The legislation would impact the entire state, not just Spokane, Cross said.

“This is a big deal; it’s not just a little thing in Spokane,” he said. “We haven’t gotten paid for nine years. So, we’ll get paid for our services for what we’re doing for the infant.”

Maddie’s Place provides care at no cost . Cross said the facility is funded through state and county grants and donations, but permanent financing is needed.

“Our current funding model is just not sustainable,” he said.

According to Cross, 88% of parents who went to Maddie’s Place remained substance-free and were able to keep their child.

“The parent in recovery is the best medicine for their infant, and the infant in recovery is the best medicine for their parent,” Cross said.

According to a Washington State University study, the average length of stay for an infant at Maddie’s Place was 56 days. Infants are admitted to Maddie’s Place 28 days after birth, on average. The number of infants exposed to substances in Washington was over 4% higher than the national average in 2021.

Dr. Judy Zerzan, chief medical officer at the state Health Care Authority, testified she neither supports or opposes the bill, but cast doubt on the federal government approving a Medicaid plan for only a single program in the state. She said the nursery was not a substitute for post-birth hospital stays.

“While this model definitely adds to family preservation, they’re not a replacement for NICU in high-intensity hospital care,” she said.

Katherine Derrick, a former parent at Maddie’s Place, testified in support of the bill, saying the center was necessary for her recovery.

“I was terrified of losing my baby,” she said. “I feel strongly that if I didn’t go to this place, the shame of my past would have kept me isolated and stuck in addiction.”

Cross said the bill would set the table for expansions, which have already begun to take root in Vancouver and Bellingham.

“We have already formed a Maddie’s Place Vancouver, LLC. We have folks in Bellingham that want to put a Maddie’s Place there,” Cross said.

The bill has bipartisan support in the Senate, with Marcus Riccelli, D-Spokane, and Leonard Christian, R-Spokane Valley, sponsoring.

Cross has brought the issue to the national stage, persuading Congressman Dan Newhouse to introduce the legislation. The bill would commission a national study into the prevalence of neonatal abstinence syndrome and the outcomes of facilities like Maddie’s Place. Dubbed the MIRACLE (Maddie’s Infant Recover And Children’s Legislative Emergency) Act, the bill was introduced in November.

“We think there’s going to be tremendous bipartisan support for the Miracle Act,” Cross said. “I’m basically focusing on our legislation in Olympia, and hopefully that will pass, and then we’ll be focusing on D.C. We already are lining up bipartisan support in the Senate.