By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The High Plains Mental Health Center honored the Robert and Patricia Schmidt Foundation for its gift of $500,000 to the Crisis Intervention Center during a brief ceremony on Oct 14.
However, material and construction costs have increased the total cost of the project to $7 million, and the High Plains still needs an additional $2.5 million to complete it.
The center was supposed to open by the end of this month, but construction delays have pushed the opening to March.
The third floor of the Hadley Center, 205 E. Seventh St. and formerly the home of the KVC youth psychiatric facility, is being remodeled for this new use.
Benito Rivera-Madrid, center project manager, said the floor was gutted, and rooms that used to house multiple youth are being converted to private rooms for adults.
The Crisis Intervention Center will offer 22 patient rooms and two de-escalation rooms, with overflow capacity available to accommodate peak demand times.
Patients will stay an average of three days for mental health crises regardless of specific mental health diagnoses.
The center will have rooms for involuntary and voluntary patients as well as detox services.
The center is meant to alleviate the wait list at Larned State Hospital. The facility is expected to serve at least 500 clients annually and will be the closest option for residents in 28 western Kansas counties.
Involuntary patients sometimes wait days at local emergency departments or with law enforcement until they can be transferred to Larned.
Fifty direct jobs will be added within the Crisis Intervention Center, and the center will account for millions of dollars in economic impact on the community, according to Craig Poe, High Plains Mental Health executive director.
The total construction cost for the center remodeling project was supposed to be $5,435,496.
The Kansas Department of Aging and Disability Services committed $1.38 million, leaving a remaining balance of the now $7 million project to be covered through other funding sources, including private donations.
SEE RELATED STORY: High Plains Mental Health breaks ground on Crisis Intervention Center
Poe said the center is still applying for grants and seeking private donations for the project.
More information about donating can be found at donatehighplains.com
Gifts can be made online, or checks in the mail made out to HPMHC Endowment. High Plains can also accept pledges and set up payment plans. Contact [email protected]. Gifts of $500 or more get a plaque on the center's mobile donor wall.
If you or someone you know is in a mental health crisis, dial 911, 988 for the national crisis hotline or 1-800-432-0333 for the High Plains 24/7 crisis line.
Call High Plains at 785-628-2871 to find the service location closest to you. Visit the mental health center's website at hpmhc.com or follow them on Facebook.
