Officials are planning to locate the new regional psychiatric hospital on donated land at Meridian and MacArthur in southwest Wichita. Sedgwick County Commission Chair Ryan Baty tells KNSS News there are two things to consider about the new facility: ensuring adequate funding to operate the facility, and hiring enough qualified staff. Baty says it will require as many as 150 workers to care for 50 beds during a health employee shortage.
This week local officials from Wichita met with their elected representatives in Topeka. The main topic: a new one-stop facility to serve Wichita’s homeless. Baty says there is cooperation with the legislators to “move this thing forward.” He says he is “hopeful,” but there is still a lot of work to be done.
Baty commented during his weekly appearance on the Steve and Ted in the Morning Show on KNSS.