Site chosen for psychiatric hospital in Sedgwick County
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — The state has chosen the site for the South Central Regional Psychiatric Hospital. On Friday, the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) announced the hospital will be on a plot of land near MacArthur and Meridian in southwest Wichita.
The site review committee reviewed 11 properties and three building proposals before presenting the final recommendation. That recommendation included public input from a town hall.
The site was chosen because it is close to Interstate 235. The Sedgwick County Commission accepted 11 acres of land that is being donated by Lange Real Estate.
The South Central Kansas Psychiatric Hospital will have 25 beds available for people charged with crimes waiting for mental health evaluations. The remaining 25 beds will be reserved for people ordered to get treatment there.
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The Commission says that because the land is donated, it should free up $15 million, which could go to doubling the number of beds available.
“We’re really excited about the donation of this land because that’s a significant amount of money that we can put into expanding the hospital right from the start,” Commissioner Sarah Lopez said.
The hospital will be in Lopez’s district. She is recommending a town hall to address the concerns of people who live in the area. No date has been announced yet.
“Selecting a site lets us move forward with the design process and allows us to have a more focused conversation with residents and a discussion with stakeholders about incorporating state hospital services into what is already available in Sedgwick County and the region as a whole,” Scott Brunner, KDADS deputy secretary of hospitals and facilities, said in a news release.
The hospital will be owned and operated by the state. Currently, the only state psychiatric hospitals are in Larned and Osawatomie.
Officials say the facility will address the shortage of in-patient beds and allow patients to remain closer to home and family. Plus, additional beds will ease jail overcrowding by shortening the wait time for inmates awaiting competency evaluations or treatment.
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A 14-member South Central Regional Psychiatric Hospital Advisory Panel gathers public input and makes recommendations on the facility’s operation, location, and workforce development needs.
The Panel will examine how a state hospital would fit into existing or planned services in the region and identify existing resources, gaps in services, and opportunities to improve access to mental health services.
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