Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) has worked in cooperation with the Mental Health Task Force, the Governor’s Behavioral Health Planning Council, Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs), and other stakeholders to expand the number of regional psychiatric hospital beds (State Institutional Alternatives) to serve individuals with mental illness meeting the criteria for state hospital admission. Adding this capacity regionally will help serve patients closer to their home communities.
Funding from the State General Fund will be used to contract with providers to provide hospital bed space for adults and children. These “regional” beds would be financed using a combination of state dollars, Medicaid, or other private insurance when patients have insurance coverage available. These beds will supplement the Osawatomie State Hospital capacity to meet immediate needs with the same focus on short inpatient stays, initiating treatment, and smoothly transitioning patients into community-based treatment.
“State Institutional Alternatives (SIA)” are defined as facilities that provide inpatient psychiatric treatment and are authorized by the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) to serve as an alternative to placement in a state mental health institution.
Source: Kansas Medicaid State Plan
A facility or hospital seeking to receive authorization as an SIA shall submit the SIA application with accreditation documentation to the Adult Inpatient Coordinator, Cynthia Edwards. Once the application is reviewed, a letter with the result of the review (authorized or not authorized) will be sent to the applicant. Authorized applicants will receive instruction on next steps to become an SIA.
Application for State Institutional Alternatives Authorization