While staff vacancies at two state-run psychiatric hospitals in Kansas are down, state officials say there is still room for improvement.
As the Kansas Health Institute News Service, reports, representatives from the Kansas Department of Aging and Disability Services, Osawatomie State Hospital, Larned State Hospital and the Kansas Organization of State Employees Monday and Tuesday spoke to a legislative committee that used the testimony to make six recommendations for the Legislature to consider during its upcoming session, including requirements for private contractors bidding to operate Osawatomie State Hospital and support for programs addressing staff shortages at both hospitals for Kansans with severe mental health issues.
Medicare payments to Osawatomie State Hospital were cut by federal officials last December because of safety concerns that arose from a reported rape of an employee two months before that exposed other security issues, including insufficient nursing staff, underperforming security staff and inadequate patient supervision for those individuals at risk of suicide.
Interim Secretary of the Kansas Department of Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) said the department is trying to fix those issues and proactively deal with issues at Larned State Hospital and said the vacancy rate for mental health technicians at Larned State Hospital has dropped from 40 percent a year ago to 25 percent now.
As of Dec. 7, however, about 36 percent of positions at Larned State Hospital and 29 percent of positions at Osawatomie State Hospital were vacant.
Keck said he expects those numbers to continue to improve, but the hospital has a reputation for being a difficult place to work “because of mandated overtime,” and that it will take time for improvements that are being made at the facility are “here to stay.”
A union steward with the Kansas Organization of State Employees (KOSE), Kyle Nuckolls, said there are other issues with the working conditions at Larned State Hospital, like a front-line supervisors who are often more focused on punishing mistakes than helping employees learn from them. He also said promotions are based on a “game of favorites.”
KOSE Executive Director Rebecca Proctor said some supervisors at the hospital have refused to allow employees to schedule time off and threaten punishment to those who call in sick three or more times in a 90-day period.
Keck and Larned State Hospital Superintendent Bill Rein said they hadn’t heard about workplace bullying but told legislators they would investigate.
The legislative committee unanimously recommended a KDADS investigation and also recommended that the state: Continue adding 20 psychiatric beds, perhaps at a private facility through a contract, at an estimated cost of $8 million; continue to support programs to address workforce shortages at both state hospitals; create formal relationships between the state hospitals and the University of Kansas School of Medicine; fully fund crises centers in Kansas City, Wichita and Topeka; and require that contractors bidding to run Osawatomie State Hospital consult with the state’s mental health centers.
