CHAS and Frontier Behavioral Health break ground on one-stop shop clinic

A new clinic is expected to open next year in downtown Spokane offering primary care, addiction treatment and mental health services.

The joint CHAS Health and Frontier Behavioral Health clinic broke ground Monday. Once constructed, the 10,000-square-foot facility is meant to make healthcare easier for low-income people living near downtown.

“The people with the greatest needs are often asked to handle it by themselves. This clinic changes that. Here, a person will be able to access primary care, behavioral health care, substance use, pharmacy services and navigation all under one roof. They’ll be met by somebody ready to hear and help, instead of being handed another number to call,” Frontier Health CEO Kelli Miller said at the groundbreaking.

Patients may be referred to specialized treatment by their primary care provider, but there are often barriers to that second appointment. Taking time out of the day, securing transportation and proximity are all factors making it difficult for low-income patients to receive adequate care. According to CHAS CEO Aaron Wilson, 40% of CHAS patients with a mental health diagnosis never receive behavioral health treatment.

“Care can feel fragmented. While navigating complex medical, behavioral health, housing, transportation and social needs, patients have multiple appointments, multiple healthcare systems and too many places where someone can fall through the cracks. This clinic is designed to change that,” Wilson said.

The clinic will be located blocks from the intersection of Division and Sprague at 130 E. Sprague Avenue. The empty downtown lot will transform over the next year into the clinic, with a tentative opening in the fall of 2027.

The building will be owned by Frontier Behavioral Health, but the clinic will be operated by CHAS under a 10-year lease. CHAS will provide primary care services, while Frontier workers will be on site to provide behavioral healthcare services. The clinic will have capacity to treat 4,000 patients a year, Miller said.

“This clinic will be a critical safety net, helping individuals stay connected, navigate those eligibility requirements and access services before a crisis occurs,” she said. “When people can’t access care, the consequences are felt throughout our community. Emergency departments become overcrowded, crisis systems become strained. Investments like this one not only reduce costs, but more importantly, they strengthen our entire health care system.”

The clinic’s construction is being funded in part by a $2 million federal grant and $1.5 million in capital funding approved in the 2026 Washington state budget. The remaining $5.7 million in projected construction costs will be financed by Frontier Behavioral Health.

The federal grant was secured by Sen. Maria Cantwell, who called the clinic “the future of behavioral health” at the groundbreaking.

“Too many people are falling through the cracks. More than 4,000 low-income residents in downtown Spokane do not have access to a community health center, let alone integrated behavioral health services,” Cantwell said. “The clinic is going to be designed just to do that, and instead of sending people from one provider, to another provider, to another provider, to another provider, and having to deal with some issues like substance abuse treatment, pharmacy services, lab services, care navigation – all of that is now under one roof.”