Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has appointed the 14 members of an advisory panel that will be looking at a proposal for a regional psychiatric hospital for the south central area of the state.
The governor signed an executive order on August 28th to create the South Central Regional Psychiatric Hospital Advisory Panel, which will gather public input and make recommendations on the operation, location and workforce development needs of a proposed 50-bed facility.
The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services has awarded $25 million to Sedgwick County to create a new regional hospital to deal with statewide shortages of health and behavioral health services, and to address the demand for a well-trained health care workforce. The State Finance Council has also set aside $15 million from the state’s general fund for the planning and initial design work for a regional hospital.
The advisory panel will provide an interim report to the Governor and the Sedgwick County Commission by January 15, 2024, and a final report is due June 30th.
The panel will include Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter and District Attorney Marc Bennett, along with County Manager Tom Stolz, County Commissioner Sarah Lopez, and COMCARE director Joan Tammany, along with Humankind Ministries president and CEO LaTasha St. Arnault.
The panel members are:
- Scott Brunner, Topeka
- Sarah Lopez, Wichita
- Tom Stolz, Wichita
- Marc Bennett, Cheney
- Sen. Usha Reddi, Manhattan
- Rep. KC Ohaebosim, Wichita
- Rep. Henry Helgerson, Eastborough
- Rep. Will Carpenter, El Dorado
- Jeff Easter, Wichita
- Claudio Ferraro, Wichita
- LaTasha St. Arnault, Wichita
- Mary Jones, Wichita
- Joan Tammany, Wichita
- Jason Gregory, Cheney
