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KS mental hospital finally admits patients without court order. Is there enough staff?

Kansas City Star - 12/16/2021

Dec. 16—For the first time in nearly seven years, Osawatomie State Hospital in northeast Kansas will begin accepting voluntary admissions.

Gov. Laura Kelly announced Thursday that on Jan. 3 the state will lift a moratorium that limited the mental health facility to court-ordered patients only.

Osawatomie stopped taking voluntary admissions after a January 2015 inspection report said the hospital failed to provide 24-hour nursing service for a patient who died from a bacterial infection that caused a blockage of the intestines.

"After nearly seven years, lifting the moratorium on voluntary admissions at Osawatomie State Hospital will ensure Kansans receive the mental health treatment they need," Kelly said in a statement.

Earlier this year the Kansas Department of Aging and Disability signaled the plans to lawmakers.

To free up space, the agency worked with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to enroll eight hospitals around the state to offer beds as an alternative to treatment in state hospitals. The agency is also scheduled to finish renovations aimed at creating more bed space next month.

With those efforts, "we are confident lifting the moratorium will be successful as a critical component of improving the safety net for adults in mental health crisis in Kansas," KDADs Secretary Laura Howard said.

While lawmakers expressed excitement this year that lifting the moratorium could play a key role in providing more care to mentally ill Kansans, concerns remained Thursday.

"I'm very happy about the idea but I'm just concerned about staffing," said Rep. Brenda Landwehr, a Wichita Republican. "They can't open beds if they can't staff them."

State hospitals in Kansas have been subject to the same staffing crisis plaguing much of health care nationwide in the wake of COVID-19. Osawatomie and Larned state hospitals have faced some of the worst staffing shortfalls in years — resulting in long wait lists for involuntary admissions and concerns about unsafe working conditions.

Last month, the Kansas Organization of State Employees and a longtime lobbyist for Kansas law enforcement agencies told The Star that lifting the moratorium could exacerbate those problems.

Ed Klumpp, the law enforcement lobbyist, reiterated concerns Thursday that opening the hospital to voluntary admissions could increase the number of people waiting in county jails for care.

"We still have a waiting list most of the time for our emergency commitments," Klumpp said. "We're glad to see the moratorium ended, but at the same time we're kind of anxiously waiting to see the impact on us. One thing for sure, it's not going to make anything better."

Kansas recently approved pay raises for workers in the hospitals, but Kelly's office and a KDADS spokeswoman did not immediately respond to questions Thursday on whether staffing levels had improved.

A news release announcing the moratorium, however, said the move would not eliminate wait lists. It said involuntary admissions would be prioritized over voluntary admissions if the hospital reaches 85% capacity.

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