TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — An influential Republican legislator wants Kansas to postpone efforts to regain federal certification for one of its two state mental hospitals as it tackles safety problems.

State Sen. Jim Denning of Overland Park is chairman of a budget subcommittee on social services. He says he’s concerned that demands from the federal government earlier this year for renovations at Osawatomie State Hospital have distracted the state from protecting employees and caring for mentally ill patients.

The federal government notified the hospital last month that the Medicare program would stop paying for patient care as of this week. The notice followed a critical survey and a report that a patient raped an employee.

Top Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services officials say they’ve exhaustively studied each deficiency and are responding.