TOPEKA — State officials have not decided whether to seek federal recertification of the Osawatomie State Hospital. Kansas Dept. for Aging and Disability Services secretary Kari Bruffett has told legislators that there are other issues to consider before deciding whether to pursue recertification; and state officials are looking at the trade-off for the bed capacity versus the funding that comes with certification, the Kansas Health Institute News Service reported. Not having federal certification costs the state mental hospital $1 million a month, the KHI reported. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services decertified the hospital last month because of the state’s failure to address security and safety concerns. Renovations prompted by an earlier federal inspection have reduced the hospital’s capacity by 60 to 146 beds. In addition, recertification also would require the state to administratively separate that part of Osawatomie in which Medicare patients would be treated from the rest of the facility and have a separate nursing staff, which she said would could be difficult given the state’s problems in staffing the hospital. She said the state could privatize all or part of the hospital.
Monday, Jan. 4, 3 p.m.
