TOPEKA – A top social services official says Kansas expects to ask the federal government to partially recertify its state mental hospital in Osawatomie.
Interim Department for Aging and Disability Services Secretary Tim Keck said Wednesday the agency will seek recertification of 60 of Osawatomie State Hospital’s 206 beds.
Federal officials decertified Osawatomie in December over an employee’s rape and other safety issues. A legislative committee reviewed an audit that said the state is losing about $1 million a month in federal funds.
Keck said renovation on a 60-bed unit is almost complete and staffing at the hospital has improved. He would not say exactly when his department would apply for recertification.
Auditors said the state still would continue to lose some federal funds even with 60 beds certified.
