By Trish Svoboda

Today, the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) unveiled the chosen location for the South Central Regional Psychiatric Hospital. A plot of land near MacArthur and Meridian in southwest Wichita will be its location. The Sedgwick County Board of County Commissioners granted authorization for Sedgwick County to initiate negotiations on the selected site for the project.

A site review committee, comprising personnel from Sedgwick County and KDADS, evaluated 11 properties and assessed three building proposals before arriving at their final recommendation. This recommendation included public feedback gathered from a town hall meeting.

“All of us on the review committee and involved in the site selection process are excited to continue progress toward building the regional hospital,” said Scott Brunner, KDADS Deputy Secretary of Hospitals and Facilities. “Selecting a site lets us move forward with the design process and allows us to have a more focused conversation with residents and a discussion with stakeholders about incorporating state hospital services into what is already available in Sedgwick County and the region as a whole.”

The South Central Regional Psychiatric Hospital aims to serve acute inpatient mental health patients and will also have adult forensic beds, to reduce jail overcrowding and delays in pending evaluations and treatment. This facility will enhance access to additional inpatient mental health beds within the region, facilitating patients to stay closer to home and family during their treatment and care.