State appoints new superintendent for Larned State Hospital
A new superintendent will take over Larned State Hospital amid ongoing staffing shortages.
The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services appointed Bill Rein to the position. Chris Mattingly has served as interim superintendent since April, when Tom Kinlen left the position.
Larned is the largest of the state’s two psychiatric hospitals; Osawatomie State Hospital is the other. Larned serves the western two-thirds of Kansas. Most of Sedgwick County’s patients go to Osawatomie.
Both hospitals have faced various setbacks.
Larned is understaffed by more than a third of its overall employees, not counting contracted staff, as of June 7. And Osawatomie lost its Medicare certification after federal auditors found that understaffing created safety gaps.
Tim Keck, interim secretary of the state agency for disability services, which oversees the state hospitals, appointed Rein to the position.
A news release said Rein drafted the state’s comprehensive mental health reform legislation in 1985 and 1990. He previously served as the department’s chief counsel and then as commissioner of behavioral health services, a position that oversaw the hospitals.
Gabriella Dunn: 316-268-6400, @gabriella_dunn
This story was originally published June 28, 2016 at 5:20 PM with the headline "State appoints new superintendent for Larned State Hospital."