Olympic Health Becomes Washington's Fourth 988 Hub
The behavioral health provider will answer 988 crisis calls from Cowlitz County and surrounding Great Rivers counties.
Updated on Nov. 15, 2026 in Substance Abuse
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Olympic Health and Recovery Services has been designated Washington's fourth official 988 crisis line hub, serving Cowlitz County and the surrounding Great Rivers region. The Cowlitz County Board of Commissioners supported the designation.
Why it matters
The designation gives residents of southwest Washington a regional point of contact for mental health and substance use crises through a three-digit number that is easier to remember than regional phone lines. It adds a local crisis resource to Washington's statewide 988 network.
The regional hub already handles about 900 calls per month, about 300 of them from Cowlitz County, while fewer than 2% of 988 calls nationwide require emergency services. The source does not say how call volume will change once the designation takes effect.
The players
Olympic Health and Recovery Services
A behavioral health provider that now serves as Washington's fourth official 988 crisis line hub for the Great Rivers region.
Joe Avalos
Executive Director of Olympic Health and Recovery Services, who attributed the selection to the organization's knowledge of the region and its commitment to serving communities.
Columbia Wellness
A Longview-based provider that operates mobile crisis teams and is one of 14 state-endorsed mobile crisis programs in Washington.
The details
Olympic Health and Recovery Services competed against larger national organizations for the position and presented letters of support from every county it hoped to represent. The organization also operates regional crisis lines for the Great Rivers area and for Thurston and Mason counties, and it partners with Columbia Wellness mobile crisis teams.
Timeline
May 26: A deadly chemical spill at the Nippon Dynawave paper mill in Longview prompted crisis teams to respond within two hours.
Nov. 10: Columbia Wellness CEO Drew McDaniel spoke at a commissioners meeting.
Tuesday (Nov. 11, 2026): Joe Avalos spoke at a Board of County Commissioners meeting about the 988 designation.
Statewide Context
The designation makes Olympic Health and Recovery Services the fourth official 988 hub in Washington's state network, extending regional crisis coverage into the Great Rivers counties. Columbia Wellness's status as one of 14 state-endorsed mobile crisis programs places the local hub within the broader statewide crisis response system.
Residents of Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Lewis, Pacific and Wahkiakum counties can now reach a regional crisis line by dialing 988 instead of a 10-digit regional number. Anyone facing a mental health or substance use crisis can call 988 for immediate support.
The takeaway
Dialing 988 is now the simplest way to reach a regional crisis counselor for residents across southwest Washington. Saving the three-digit number may help people get help faster during a crisis.
Further reading
For more on crisis support resources, see Substance Abuse coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Longview Daily News.
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