TOPEKA — Republican and Democratic legislative leaders, in partnership with Gov. Laura Kelly, unanimously approved a $15 million allocation for a plan for a mental hospital with at least 50 beds likely to be located in Sedgwick County. did.
The Kansas Department of Aged and Disabled Services has asked the State Finance Commission to fund the development of the state’s third severely mentally ill hospital. State hospitals in Larned, West Kansas, and Osawatomie, East Kansas, have been overwhelmed with demand for services.
Nearly 20% of patients admitted to Osawatomie and Larned State Hospitals are from Sedgwick County. Emergency rooms in Wichita hospitals have had so many psychiatric patients, raising questions about the safety of nurses and staff. Inmates at Sedgwick County Jail will wait months for a mental health evaluation at a state hospital.
“We understand the need. We need to do it,” said Andover Republican Senate Speaker Ty Masterson, who voted in favor of the quota.
Rep. Troy Waymaster, a Bunker Hill Republican and chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said there was consensus that the state should work toward establishing a 50-bed facility in the Wichita area. He said the property selected for the project needs space for expansion, whether the plan calls for new construction or the renovation of an existing building. .
Kelly, who started his second term as governor in January, said, “What that looks like is highly debatable as we move forward.
Tomie Osawa Hospital has expanded to 218 beds and the Larned facility has a capacity of 525 beds.
Scott Brunner, Deputy Secretary of KDADS Hospitals and Facilities, has called for the release of $15 million secured by Congress in 2022 for the sole purpose of improving inpatient psychiatric services in South Central Kansas. . He said no location was chosen, but the location was scouted.
Brunner said the interim legislative committee recommended that the state finance council spend $15 million to complete the planning stages and other work on the hospital initiative in 2023.
“I appreciate the work and diligence of the committee in bringing people together to ask really good questions and raise issues,” he said.
Brunner said discussions on next steps will take place at the same time Wichita State University and the University of Kansas launch a proposed $300 million shared biomedical education and research campus in downtown Wichita.
He said releasing the $15 million won’t hurt the new state hospital’s chances of becoming part of the downtown health corridor. Legislatures may need to clarify whether some of the funds can be used for contracts with hospitals in Wichita to temporarily increase the number of hospital beds for people at risk. No.
