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South Central Regional Mental Health Hospital set to open; committee asked to restore construction reappropriation
Summary
Officials told the subcommittee the 104-bed South Central Regional Mental Health Hospital in South Wichita is on track for turnover late 2026 and first admissions in January 2027; agency requested $45.9M for FY27 operating needs and asked lawmakers to restore roughly $70.1M in reappropriated construction funds.
Agency leaders updated the Human Services Subcommittee on the South Central Regional Mental Health Hospital (SCR), a 104-bed psychiatric facility under construction in south Wichita. The hospital will split into two halves: 52 acute adult psychiatric beds and 52 competency/restoration beds for criminal defendants. The agency said the FY27 operating request tied to the new facility totaled $45.9 million (including $43.9 million SGF) with a first-year operations enhancement shown on agency pages as roughly $28.9 million.
Deputy Secretary Scott Bruner said Sedgwick County is the construction partner and that Sedgwick will turn the project over to the state after substantial completion, targeted for November 2026. The state’s plan is to admit its first patient in January 2027. Bruner said leadership hires and several facility positions have been filled and recruiting for approximately 300 additional direct-care staff is underway; agency planning documents noted 336 FTEs tied to initial staffing lists and elsewhere referenced staffing projections up to roughly 403 positions at full census.
Officials asked the committee to consider restoring a legislative sweep that removed a roughly $70.1 million reappropriation tied to construction and early operating costs; agency testimony said those funds are already committed in contracts and obligations related to the buildout. The SCR will serve patients from Sedgwick, Butler, Cowley, Harvey and Sumner counties; agency testimony indicated the new competency beds will help reduce long wait lists at Larned and Osawatomie by giving courts and community mental health centers a closer admission option for eligible defendants.
Committee members asked a range of operational questions — expected census ramp-up, billing and Medicaid certification for acute units, and whether full staffing could be recruited on schedule. Agency leaders said they expect to be close to capacity by the end of the hospital’s first six months and will pursue CMS certification to bill Medicaid for the acute units.
