Adults living with a serious mental illness are often poorly served by large facilities and unsafe living alone. Washington's adult family home model was designed with these residents in mind, and both Silvergate homes hold the DSHS mental health specialty designation required to admit a resident with a mental illness diagnosis.
What the designation requires
To hold the mental health specialty designation, the provider and every caregiver complete DSHS-approved training in supporting residents with conditions such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, and anxiety disorders. The training covers recognizing symptoms, responding to behavioral changes without escalation, medication adherence, and working with a resident's mental health providers. Our designation is listed on the DSHS provider lookup for both homes.
Specialized Behavior Support and Expanded Community Services
Silvergate Adult Family Home in Bonney Lake holds DSHS contracts for Expanded Community Services and Specialized Behavior Support. These programs allow Medicaid residents with more complex behavioral needs to live in a small home rather than an institution, with a higher level of staffing and coordination than a standard placement. Case managers and discharge planners can contact us directly to discuss a referral.
How daily life works
- Medication administration on schedule, with monitoring for side effects and refusals reported to the prescriber
- A calm, predictable routine, with staff who know each resident's early warning signs
- Coordination with psychiatric providers, therapists, and case managers
- Encouragement to be as independent as possible, in the words of our owner, with support offered rather than imposed
- Respect for each resident's culture, beliefs, and practices
Nurse oversight
Our owner is a registered nurse who spent years in hospital and corporate nursing before opening Silvergate. She reviews each care plan, watches for changes in condition, and communicates with providers when something needs attention. That clinical eye matters for residents whose physical health is often overlooked.
Talk with us
Every referral is different. Call the Bonney Lake home at (253) 447-8544 or the Buckley home at (360) 761-7123, or use our professional referral form. We will tell you plainly whether we can meet a person's needs.