TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas state hospital for the mentally ill is being forced to reduce its patient population as it prepares for renovations.

The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services announced Tuesday that Osawatomie State Hospital’s occupancy will be reduced to 146 from 167 until its ceilings can be upgraded to be safer.

Until renovations are completed in October, the hospital may freeze admissions when 146 patients are already present.

During the past six months, federal officials have twice threatened to withhold federal funding from the hospital due to poor conditions and overcrowding.

KDADS spokeswoman Gina Meier-Hummel says the renovations will cost $3 million and that most of the affected patients will be moved to assisted living facilities, nursing homes and other community mental health centers.