BILLINGS— Billings Mayor Bill Cole and Montana State Sen. Mike Yakawich (R-Billings) shared excitement and concern regarding the statewide forensic mental health facility coming to Laurel.
The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) announced its decision to bring the facility to Laurel on Friday, referring to it as a “behavioral health facility."
The 2025 Montana Legislature approved $26.2 million for a mental health facility in eastern Montana, the second of its kind in the state.
Related: Laurel now possibility for state mental hospital in eastern Montana
Cole said the facility will have a significant effect on Billings.
“I'm hoping that if the facility is located in Laurel, it will take some of the pressure off our jail, free up a few of the beds that are now occupied by people waiting for forensic psychiatric evaluation. Also, it will hopefully bring more jobs to Billings contractors and employers,” said Cole Saturday morning.
He also expressed concerns about Billings and Laurel competing for healthcare professionals, and where the patients will be released after their time at the facility.
“I don't think there's any question that Laurel, by itself, does not have the professional resources to support this kind of facility," Cole said. "They're going to have to come into our community from outside, other places in Montana, or outside of Montana, or from Billings itself. And that's why Billings still has a stake in trying to understand what those challenges are going to be... When people are released from this facility, we need to know where they're going to go."
Amid the concerns, Yakawich has an optimistic perspective. He said he is confident the facility will attract healthcare professionals to Yellowstone County.
“It's going to take two to three years to actually open the door, so we have a golden opportunity to be able to work together in partnership with our community, with our providers, with our elected officials, with our educators. Okay, let's work on workforce,” said Yakawich.
“I believe we have the structure and the capacity to build that, and to draw people here from outside the Billings area. Come here. We got a great city, we got great resources, great schools. People can bring their family here and bring their profession here,” he added.
Yakawich claimed patients will be released to the Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs, jail, or their home county after their time in the facility.
As for the specific location of the facility, as of deadline Saturday, MTN has not received word on if the state has secured a property for it in Laurel. MTN also reached out to Laurel officials for comment regarding DPHHS' decision, but those requests went unanswered as of news time.
Miles City and Hardin submitted detailed proposals of where the facility could be located, but Laurel has only submitted a letter of interest.
“There's still a lot of moving pieces in this. This cake is not fully baked. We don't know what it's going to look like when it comes out of the oven,” said Cole.
Cole and Yakawich encourage Yellowstone County residents to stay engaged with Laurel and state officials.
“My recommendation is that for anyone who has an interest in the potential benefits and challenges of this facility is that they stay engaged. Stay engaged with the state and stay engaged with the city of Laurel,” said Cole.
