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State hospital leaders report heavy reliance on contract nursing, expanded bonuses and an in‑progress regional hospital project
Summary
KDADS and state hospital officials told the committee about persistent vacancy rates, large contract‑nurse expenditures, incentives and plans for a new south‑central regional mental health hospital; they also described mobile competency work and county reimbursement programs.
Scott Bruner, deputy secretary for hospitals and facilities at KDADS, reported that the state hospitals have continued to rely on contract nursing to preserve bed capacity even as the department implemented pay and incentive changes intended to retain staff.
Bruner said the state has invested in base-pay increases and 24/7 facility incentives and that the department has used recruitment and retention tools including sign-on bonuses, referral bonuses and targeted shift pickup bonuses. He provided figures showing thousands of retention and sign-on payments across campuses and…
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