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Committee hears bill to create South Central Regional Mental Health Hospital with 104 beds
Summary
House Bill 2365 would establish the South Central Regional Mental Health Hospital in statute, authorize a fee fund and add the facility to cross‑references in state law.
House Bill 2365 would add the South Central Regional Mental Health Hospital to state statute as a state psychiatric hospital, create a dedicated fee fund, update cross‑references throughout existing law, and authorize the facility Sedgwick County and the state have planned for several years.
KDADS Deputy Secretary Scott Bruner told the Senate Committee on Public Health and Welfare that the hospital is planned to provide 104 beds for adults committed for involuntary mental health treatment under the care and treatment statute and to provide competency services for criminal defendants as an extension of Larned State Security Hospital. He said Sedgwick County is a key local partner that has acquired the property and engaged a general contractor; construction is expected to be substantially complete near the end of 2026 with the first patient admitted in January 2027.
Scott Bruner, deputy secretary for hospitals and facilities at the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS), summarized the scope and timeline: "The South Central Regional Hospital will...have 104 beds for patients and serve adults committed for involuntary mental health treatment or the care and treatment statute and criminal defendants needing competency services as an extension of the state security hospital at Larned." Bruner also noted prior appropriations and a legislative increase of $26.5 million that expanded the project's initial design from 50 to 104 beds and said no additional fiscal note was attached to the bill because the project is funded through prior appropriations.
Amy Campbell of the Kansas Mental Health Coalition urged support, saying the hospital addresses long‑standing inpatient capacity shortfalls but warned that community‑based services and crisis alternatives must also be strengthened so the new facility complements — not substitutes for — a broader continuum of care.
The bill also renames Parsons State Hospital and Training Center to remove the phrase "Training Center," a change KDADS said reflects updated services and treatment approaches. KDADS testified that an advisory panel appointed by the governor has met for 18 months and provided recommendations on treatment model and catchment area; the bill names Sedgwick, Butler, "Cali," Harvey and Sumner counties as the hospital's catchment area, with KDADS noting catchment boundaries may be set by regulation.
Committee members asked about project funding and timing; KDADS said funding has been appropriated and that a full operational budget will be submitted to the governor once the bill authorizes the hospital in statute.
Ending: Supporters said HB 2365 is the statutory authorization needed to finish planning and budgeting for the new state hospital; mental health advocates echoed the need for inpatient capacity while urging continued investment in community services. The committee heard the bill and closed the hearing; no committee vote was recorded at that time.
