Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Comcare Expansion topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Comcare previews expanded crisis center: more beds, detox and 24/7 response aims
Summary
Comcare proposed consolidating facilities and expanding clinical capacity — observation recliners (6→8), stabilization beds (6→7), sobering beds (8→10) and detox beds (15→26) — to reduce ED holds and long transfers to state hospitals; staff said partnerships and KU/Wichita State studies support the program expansion.
Jennifer Wilson, director of crisis services at Sedgwick County Comcare, told commissioners the agency wants to consolidate its Morris Place and Main Street operations into a single community crisis center and expand clinical capacity to meet growing demand.
Wilson described the existing continuum — a 23‑hour observation area at 635 N. Main, crisis stabilization at Morris Place, embedded integrated care specialists in 911, mobile crisis teams and a statewide 988 call response — and said expansion would add assessment, more observation recliners and stabilization beds and internal nursing capacity. “We plan to increase our observation...6 recliners to 8 recliners...We'll increase stabilization beds from 6 beds to 7 beds,” she said, and added the design includes a dedicated crisis intervention center with a separate secure entry.
Comcare noted partnerships with the Substance Abuse Center (SAC) for sobering and medical detox services; the plan would increase sobering beds from 8 to 10 and detox beds from 15 to 26, with SAC managing medical detox. Wilson said the goal is to keep people in a local alternative to state hospitalization where appropriate and to reduce long transports.
The presenter cited past Wichita State cost‑avoidance studies (2015: $8.1M, 2018: $15.5M) and said Comcare is working with KU School of Medicine on an updated study to quantify current cost‑savings and demand. Commissioners asked for follow-up details on staffing needs and how expanded services will be sustained through billing and partnerships.
