New psychiatric hospital receives $26.5 million, will have 104 beds
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – The new psychiatric hospital in Wichita received $26.5 million in funding from the state. The money will allow it to now have double the number of beds than originally expected right when it opens.
Sedgwick County Commissioner Jim Howell said he’s surprised the state added the funding, allowing them to add those beds right away rather than later on after the build.
Howell believes there are some moving parts to make this happen behind the scenes, but it should not impact their schedule building the new hospital.
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A move county commissioners had been pushing to happen for a long time.
“We had plans of hopefully increasing it to 100 beds. That was a discussion we had a couple of years ago. We’re going to be able to do that on day one,” said Howell.
Howell said that since the build involves ARPA funds, it will still be on the same deadline as if there were only 50 beds.
“We’re in a very tight timeframe to get this done, and we’re going to lean forward and get it done,” said Howell.
He said the project will go out to bid in four to eight weeks, and a contract will be awarded for the build within a couple of months.
Another step is the land must be rezoned, moving from general commercial to light industrial. Howell said there are several aspects of zoning taken into account.
“Drainage, road access, fire hydrants, stormwater management, deals with which way does the water flow of the property,” said Howell.
Howell believes that right now, Sedgwick County does not have enough mental health care workers to staff the facility. He wants to work with local colleges to fill the couple of hundred positions the hospital will need.
“We have a pipeline of people who can fill these jobs that may not be currently qualified. These are schools that provide training for people to fill these types with positions,” said Howell.
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He said one-third of the people currently in the Sedgwick County Jail are in need of transfer to a psychiatric hospital for help and better care, but there is no current room. Howell said the hospital will address part of that need.
The deadline will require the psychiatric hospital to be completed before the end of 2026.
Sedgwick County has no financial investment in the facility. Howell said it’s the county’s job to implement design and construction, then hand over the keys to the state for operation.
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