By Bryan Thompson

The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services on Thursday outlined a plan to limit the number of patients admitted to the state mental hospital at Osawatomie.

The plan was unveiled at the first meeting of an advisory committee tasked with identifying the ideal mix of hospital and community-based services for Kansans with mental illnesses.

Federal regulators are requiring extensive renovations to make Osawatomie State Hospital safer for patients.

KDADS Secretary Kari Bruffett said the 206-bed facility will have to keep its census below 147 patients while the work is in progress, because patients can’t be housed in areas under construction. Bruffett formed the new Continuum of Care Committee to use what she called a “short-term crisis” at Osawatomie State Hospital as a springboard to re-evaluate the Kansas behavioral health system.

“Federal surveys found that we needed to replace ceilings in order to be in compliance with current code for psychiatric facilities,” Bruffett said. “We are certainly still keeping Osawatomie State Hospital open during that time, but we are having to reduce the capacity sort of building by building.

“So for us the urgency is, and the opportunity is, to look at, do we continue to renovate the state hospital buildings — the other buildings — after this phase of construction, or what do we want to actually have, long-term, the role of the state hospitals be in the behavioral health system overall?”

The state hospitals in Osawatomie and Larned serve Kansans with severe and persistent mental illnesses.

To keep the Osawatomie hospital census below 147 patients, people with mental health issues who may need to be hospitalized will first be screened at a community mental health center. If that process indicates inpatient care is needed but there is no room at the state hospital, Osawatomie officials and the community mental health center will try to arrange other services to meet the patient’s needs.

Those options may include admission to a private hospital, crisis stabilization services or a 24-hour structured care environment. If the selected facility refuses to accept the patient, other options will be pursued.

Bruffett said KDADS will help patients pay for appropriate care outside the state hospital system as needed.

“We do have right now in front of the Legislature a governor’s budget amendment to add $3.5 million to assist during the renovation phase at Osawatomie State Hospital,” she said. “That is for the diversionary funds needed for folks that might otherwise be in the state hospital. That governor’s budget amendment has support in both chambers of the Legislature.”

But for the committee, the long-term issue is determining how to allocate scarce financial resources in the mental health system. Topeka Police Captain Bill Cochran said the reality is that jails are the biggest mental health providers. But he said innovative training programs for officers and the general public are beginning to reduce the number of people with mental illnesses in the Shawnee County Jail.

“Community-based services is where it’s at, and that’s what’s going to make everything work,” Cochran said. “The whole idea behind community-based services is you keep people out of the state hospital. Money and funding is important. I would love to see more money put into the budget, but I also realize at some point community partners have got to say, ‘We’re going to do this because it’s the right thing to do.’ I think that’s what makes it work in Topeka and Shawnee County.”

Still, Bruffett said there’s no doubt that Kansas needs more mental health bed space.

“We don’t suggest that community options will fully replace the need for inpatient beds,” she said. “We also know there’s been, over the last decade and longer, a reduction in the number of inpatient beds in community hospitals throughout the state. That’s not unique to Kansas, by any means. That’s true throughout the country, and that creates a pressure on the system.”

That pressure worries Amy Campbell, a lobbyist for the Kansas Mental Health Coalition, a nonprofit group dedicated to improving the lives of Kansans with mental illness. Campbell said she’d be concerned if anyone in her own family had to cope with mental illness this summer, as the state attempts to deal with what she called “this bed crisis.” Even so, Campbell sees hope in the mission of the new Continuum of Care Committee.

“The really positive thing about what occurred at our meeting today, though, was that they brought up some very specific recommendations that have come forward out of former groups and task forces,” she said. “It doesn’t appear to me that they’re going to try and invent the wheel here. It appears to me that they’re trying to build on the recommendations that we already have in place, and I think that’s really encouraging.”

The committee’s target is to have recommendations to KDADS leadership by June 26.

Bryan Thompson is a reporter for Heartland Health Monitor, a news collaboration focusing on health issues and their impact in Missouri and Kansas.

By Alyssa Scott

KU Statehouse Wire Service

TOPEKA – Located on the western border of Kansas, Greeley County is the least populated county in the state with 1,301 residents. During the past decade, the county experienced the state’s greatest population loss with a 19 percent drop. Since then, the county has been working to reverse the decline, benefitting from the Rural Opportunity Zones program which has bolstered the population, increased school enrollment and spurred home sales. Since the program’s beginning in 2011, it has brought 55 new residents to the county.

“Greeley County has spent the last 10 years working diligently to reverse population decline and to stabilize the community’s economy,” said Christy Hopkins, the county’s community development director. “As a community, we saw the program as a way to help draw trained, educated, productive individuals to Greeley County. We’re seeing population growth for the first time since the 1980s and we’re eager to see that continue.”

In 2011, a representative from the Kansas Department of Commerce introduced ROZ to the local Board of Supervisors as a way to increase the county’s population, which was 1,250 after the decade of decline. Mike Thon, a member of the board, said despite the cost of offering the program the board decided it was something the community needed to offset the decline. In the first year of the program, the county supported 14 participants for a total of $21,000.

“The biggest concern when we discussed it at our meeting was how far are we going to go with it, how deep we wanted to go and what kind of investment we wanted to make,” Thon said.

As a part of the ROZ program, individuals who move to Greeley County have the opportunity to earn student loan repayments of up to $15,000 over the course of five years. Half of the cost is covered by the state and the county is responsible for the remainder. Thon said although legislators and governors expressed concerns about the cost, the board was not concerned about the county paying $1,500 per participant each year.

“We’ve got 25 people enrolled and we are paying $1,500 a year per person, so that’s a sizeable investment, but look at the return we’ve received,” Thon said. “I know that there are counties that chose not to do the ROZ program or chose not to fund it to the degree that we and other counties have, but they haven’t experienced the positives that we’ve experienced.”

When households and family members are included, these 25 participants represent an additional 55 residents for the county. Hopkins said a goal of the program is to bring more young people to rural areas, and all but one of the 55 new residents in Greeley County are under the age of 40. These ROZ households account for 17 children, five of which are in school and 12 are pre-school age. Hopkins said school enrollment is an area that has recently grown with a 25 percent increase from 2013 to 2014.

“It doesn’t take many children enrolled in our school district to offset the cost of ROZ,” Thon said. “We’ve seen an increase in student enrollment in Greeley County and it’s not just because of the ROZ program, but we’ve seen growth where other counties haven’t and ROZ was a part of that.”

Ken Bockwinkel, superintendent of Greeley County Schools, said in addition to experiencing an increase in students, the school district has been able to hire more teachers. Since the student loan repayment is an incentive for individuals with degrees and certifications, Thon said it is an important recruiting tool for schools and hospitals.

“Working in schools, it’s hard to recruit teachers out here to western Kansas,” Bockwinkel said. “By having the ROZ program available, teachers can take advantage of that and hopefully stick around for more than just a year.”

Hopkins testified on behalf of ROZ at a House Taxation Committee meeting in March and listed business growth and additional housing construction as key areas of success for Greeley County as a result of the program. Participants have purchased seven homes and have also moved into four previously unoccupied family homes. They have also opened two new businesses: a financial planning office and an audiology clinic.

“Right now, and we haven’t had this for a long time, there is not a vacant store front on Main Street,” Thon said. “Drive through any small town in Kansas and say that. You can’t. You’re not going to find many communities like that across rural Kansas.”

With this, Greeley County has seen job growth and Thon said it ranks in the lowest three counties in the state in terms of unemployment. Despite common stereotypes, Hopkins said rural life has a lot to offer young people who have recently earned their degrees.

“Rural Kansas is a place of great opportunity,” Hopkins said. “From the entrepreneur looking to get his or her start to the job-seeker in a wide range of fields, rural Kansas has boundless potential.”

Melissa Borthwick, a physician’s assistant in Greeley County, is currently in her first year as an ROZ participant. Borthwick, who is originally from a rural town, said her goal was to move back to that lifestyle and earning student loan repayments from ROZ helped her do this.

“Personally, Greeley County has given me the opportunity to practice medicine in a way that a larger town would not allow, such as a wide range of conditions, a more independent practice and the opportunity to practice in the ER and clinic both daily,” Borthwick said.

Although Greeley County is still a small community, Thon said it is important for the government to continue giving attention and support to it.

“We may be small, but we have an impact,” Thon said. “We contribute to the overall productivity and overall well-being of the state of Kansas. Things like this that have a positive impact on us have positive impacts not just on us, but on the entire state.”

Alyssa Scott is a University of Kansas junior from Wichita majoring in journalism and French.

 

GRANDVIEW PLAZA – Fire officials say damage from a Saturday night fire at the 36-unit Geary Estates apartment complex building has been placed at more than $1 million dollars. The building is considered a total loss.

There were no injuries in the blaze that has been listed by authorities as caused by a lightning strike.

Geary County officials say firefighters responded to report of a lightning strike at the apartment complex in Grandview Plaza just before 5:30 p.m..

They checked the roof of the structure for damage and located four spots where lightning had struck, but no fire or flames were located.

The interior of the building was also checked for smoke and fire. The Red Cross worked with the apartment complex staff to arrange housing for the displaced residents.

Gerry Berges, Geary County Rural Fire Chief, reported at approximately 8:30 p.m., Grandview Plaza firefighters who were still on scene smelled something burning.

They located a small fire on the east side of the complex in the area of the roof eaves. Fire extinguishers were used to try to put the fire out from inside the building.

Both Junction City and Fort Riley Fire Departments again responded with ladder trucks, and Geary County Rural Fire also responded with an engine to assist.

Thirty mile-per-hour plus easterly winds and low water pressure in the area hampered the firefighters.

Fire personnel were sent inside to help expose a firewall to help prevent the fire from spreading to the north into the other apartments and attic areas.
The fire was considered under control by 11 p.m.
An investigator from the State Fire Marshal’s Office arrived on scene Sunday morning.

A drone from Dickinson County Fire District 1 arrived and did aerial video and photography for investigators.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas City, Kansas, police department says it’s investigating after photos surfaced of two officers posing with their rifles in front of a vandalized stop sign.

The Kansas City Star reports the photographs show lettering had been added to a stop sign to read, “Cops STOP murder’n.” The two officers posed for photos in front of the sign with their patrol rifles.

Police spokeswoman Amber Hickerson says the department learned of the photos after a neighbor saw the officers and posted pictures of them on social media. Hickerson did not know where the sign was located but said the vandalized lettering has since been cleaned off.

The officers were not identified.

The department says the officers showed poor judgment and the photos are “disappointing and inappropriate.”

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Faculty and students have expressed concern about how a law allowing people to carry concealed guns into buildings on Kansas college campuses will affect the classroom.

After July 1, 2017, campus buildings in Kansas have to allow concealed carry unless the building has adequate security. But Board of Regents chairman Kenny Wilk says universities won’t be installing security at all of their 800-plus buildings.

Wilk says a possibility is installing security at selective buildings.

Michael Williams, incoming Kansas University Senate president told The Lawrence Journal-World there are concerns about the how weapons in the classroom will affect the open expression of ideas.

He says the University Senate Executive Committee also plans to form an ad hoc committee to explore options and recommendations.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Heavy storms across Missouri and Kansas have been pushing streams and rivers out of their banks, and forecasters say more rain is likely this week.

The National Weather Service issued flood warnings Sunday for central Missouri, including along the Missouri River near Chamois and Gasconade east of Jefferson City, where minor flooding is expected early this week.

Several tornado warnings were issued for western and central Missouri, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

A flash flood watch was also issued Sunday for sections of Kansas, including in the southeast and the Wichita area, where another round of thunderstorms was expected on already saturated ground and could lead to minor flooding along area rivers.

CHASE— Officials are working to determine the cause of a residential fire in Rice County on Sunday morning.

Fire crews with three different departments responded to the structure fire in the small town of Chase.

Rice County officials reported the single-family residence was
fully-engulfed when they arrived.

Although the home was a complete loss, fire crews were able to quickly contain the fire from spreading to any nearby structures.

No one was home at the time the fire started. The American Red Cross disaster team is currently assisting the owner.

The cause of the fire is yet to be determined, however, fire officials say it didn’t appear to be suspicious in nature. There were no injuries.