By Trish Svoboda

The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) and Sedgwick County Commission have chosen a site in southwest Wichita for constructing a new state psychiatric hospital with at least 50 inpatient treatment beds. After considering multiple properties, they recommended using open land at MacArthur and Meridian to construct the South Central Regional Psychiatric Hospital.

According to KDADS, the hospital is intended to provide inpatient care for patients with acute mental illness. Plans also include incorporating adult forensic beds to complete psychiatric evaluations for individuals detained at the county jail.

The goal has been to establish a state hospital in south-central Kansas with a minimum of 50 beds, although the final design of the facility may accommodate up to 100 beds.

The hospital, owned and operated by KDADS, could open by 2027. Funding includes $15 million from the state and $25 million in COVID-19 relief funds.