KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. He also covers agricultural topics. Share your story idea with Ryan.
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In December 2024, five Kansas lawmakers signed off on a legislative audit of Osawatomie State Hospital through the Kansas Legislative Division of Post Audit (KLPA).
- Rep. Samantha Poetter Parshall (R-District 6)
- Sen. Caryn Tyson (R-District 12)
- Rep. Carrie Barth (R-District 5)
- Rep. Fred Gardner (R-District 9)
- Former Sen. Molly Baumgardner (R-District 37)
KSHB 41 has reported on multiple safety and security issues flagged in the legislative audit, which include physical security issues, employee turnover and workplace culture problems.
Rep. Fred Gardner is the only lawmaker who agreed to an interview with KSHB 41 regarding the conditions at Osawatomie State Hospital. Gardner said many of his District 9 constituents work at the hospital.
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"There have been several of those that approached me about safety issues at the hospital, including several people from law enforcement have mentioned that," Gardner told KSHB 41. "So I signed on..."
Sen. Caryn Tyson told KSHB 41 she was "too busy" to discuss the audit.
In KSHB 41's reporting, each former employee interviewed had similar sentiments.
"It could definitely be a shining light here [in Osawatomie]," said Jamie Reavis, a former mental health technician. "Neglect and apathy are to blame... Our legislators need to look at this hospital. The patients are citizens, too."
RELATED | Addressing safety and security at the Osawatomie State Psychiatric Hospital
Osawatomie State Hospital (OSH) is a state psychiatric facility operated on a $59.6 million budget for two independently operated hospitals on the campus, OSH and Adair Acute Care (AAC).
Eighty percent of the hospital's budget is taxpayer funded.
Former contract nurse Eric Blatt worked at AAC and as a psychiatric nurse for 10 years. He's amplified his voice for the patients who are court-ordered to the facility.
RELATED | Osawatomie State Hospital staff plagued by harassment, fear culture
"People are turning a blind eye to these issues, and they're severe issues," he said. "I want a better service for the patients because this is a state-run facility."
Other former employees like Katie Jackson are passionate about the patient population she served in the MiCo House at OSH, the sexual predator unit.
"The patients are worth it," Jackson explained. "They really are. They make it so that you want to help them."
Through each employee's review of the legislative audit at the state hospital, they all want good to come from the facility.
"I believe in what they do," Jackson said. "We have to be able to get legislators to look at it."
KSHB 41 took their concerns to the Kansas Legislature.
Rep. Gardner said the audit is an opportunity for the legislature to review potential policy or money allocations to the facility.
"We, as legislators, can change the laws about how that operates, and we can also change funding levels," Gardner said.
After reading the December 2024 audit's findings, Gardner believes there isn't much legislative action that can be done to improve conditions.
"My conclusion, after reading the post audit report, is there is some need for change in administration," he explained. "The public policy looks to be fine to me, and we may need to look at some funding issues if there are administrative changes. But I think that audit does demonstrate to us that there is some need for changes there."
Unless there is a significant change to the state statute of funding, Gardner said there isn't much he sees that can be done. The facility is the responsibility of the Kansas Department for Disability and Aging Services (KDADS).
"As far as this session is concerned, I didn't see anything coming out of that audit that indicated we needed any statute changes," Gardner added. "I think in the next few years, this audit gives us a baseline to kind of keep track of what's going on there now and where we want to get to."
KLPA's audit found, "Osawatomie State Hospital does not adequately ensure the safety and security of its staff."
It also reported the hospital's history of safety and security issues, including when a staff member was sexually assaulted by a patient in 2015. OSH lost CMS certification (Medicare/Medicaid) for repeated safety deficiencies.
OHS's plan to resolve the issues was to review patients' risk of violence, increase training, and remind staff to use personal safety alarms.
"What's that alarm going to do when a patient's beating your head in?" Reavis said.
Additionally, federal inspectors required renovations to address patient safety issues for suicidal patients to obtain federal funding.
The facility underwent major renovations, and the hospital was split into two entities, OSH and AAC.
Adair Acute Care met the federal funding certification requirements in 2017. OSH remains without.
"Medicare funding is available to certified entities, it’s available for short term stays," explained Secretary Laura Howard, of KDADS.
Howard was not at the helm of KDADS during that period. She said her team is addressing areas of concern flagged in the audit.
"In many of the changes in the audit, don't in and of themselves require new funding," she said. "We asked for some additional funding for additional psychologists, based on some of the demands and issues at the hospital. The governor's budget supported that, and the legislature supported that funding as well."
Howard said the hospital superintendent has implemented new practices based on the audit's findings.
But Jackson is skeptical there isn't much state lawmakers can do.
"There's always something someone can do," she said. "Why would they do it (audit) if there's nothing they can do about it?"
KSHB 41 is waiting for an update on the changes from KDADS.
If you're a current or former employee at Osawatomie State Hospital, KSHB 41 News reporter Ryan Gamboa would like to hear your voice. To contact Ryan, send him an email at ryan.gamboa@kshb.com.
To review the entire KLPA audit at OSH, click here.
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