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Kansas committee orders study of alternatives to expensive contract nursing at state hospitals
Summary
A legislative interim committee ordered KDADS to develop cost‑effective alternatives to current staffing and contract‑nursing models at Kansas state psychiatric hospitals — with special focus on Larned — after agency testimony showed FY2025 contract and staffing spending across three campuses at roughly $160 million and projected to approach $200 million by 2030 under current assumptions.
A legislative interim committee on state hospitals on Thursday pressed state officials for concrete options to reduce soaring contract‑nursing spending and to shore up staffing at Kansas’ state psychiatric hospitals.
KDADS deputy secretary Scott Brunner told the committee the agency used FY2025 actual expenditures as a baseline and projected combined salary, wage and contract nursing costs across Larned, Osawatomie and the South Central Regional hospital at about $160 million in 2025, rising toward roughly $200 million by 2030 under the agency’s assumptions. Brunner said the agency modeled 2.5% annual wage growth and targeted a 2% year‑over‑year reduction in contract nursing costs as a feasible path to lower reliance on contractors. "If I don't have to use contract labor, I won't," Brunner said, describing the projection assumptions.
Why it matters: committee members emphasized that sustained high contract spending reduces budget flexibility and offered little long‑term workforce stability. Representative Bueller asked KDADS to produce a tangible…
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