‘Not a therapeutic environment’: Kelly says Kansas psych hospital unit needs changes

Gov. Laura Kelly said Thursday that a troubled unit within Osawatomie State Hospital was “not a therapeutic environment” for the seriously mentally ill and promised plans for improvement.

The hospital has been plagued by challenges for years, including a decision by federal officials to decertify it – a move that cost the facility of millions of dollars a year. A 60-bed unit in the hospital, called Adair Acute Care, was recertified in 2017.

But in an interview the first-term Democrat bluntly described Adair as substandard.

“Remember the 60 certified beds? Well, that facility we did get certified because it meets all the technical requirements, but it is not a therapeutic environment. It is way too small to have 60 people with some serious mental health issues in that one place,” Kelly said.

Kelly said the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services, or KDADS, is working on improvement plans to lower the number of patients in the unit and provide beds elsewhere.

Kelly singled out crisis centers as one way to improve the state’s mental health care system. A 2017 law signed by Gov. Sam Brownback allowed the facilities to involuntarily admit individuals for up to 72 hours.

Last year, lawmakers approved $2.6 million for mental health care improvements that included funding for the centers. Kelly said Thursday that the investment makes more sense than adding capacity to the state mental health hospitals.

KDADS spokeswoman Cara Sloan-Ramos said more detailed information will be released when Kelly presents her proposed budget later this month. But she said the agency will put forward a plan to lift a moratorium on new admissions to Osawatomie that has been in place for years. She also said it will include a continued focus on providing care near patients’ homes and communities.

Osawatomie also faces more immediate challenges. Last month, federal inspectors gave the hospital until March to improve treatment to some psychiatric patients in Adair Acute Care or risk Medicare funding.

The hospital has filed an improvement plan in response, promising to provide more individualized treatment for patients.

This story was originally published January 3, 2020 at 5:00 AM.