Recent requests from guardians and family members of persons in the three state mental retardation hospitals that their loved one be moved to the community has far surpassed the number of people left at Winfield State Hospital and Training Center (WSH&TC). For the last year, community placement in response to these requests are being made at a rate of more than 10 people a month.

Among the 589 residents of the three state hospitals, WSH&TC, Parsons State Hospital, and Kansas Neurological Institute, 225 have now requested community placement.

The high number of requests for community placement from state hospitals is significant because it shows that closure of WSH&TC, set for December 31, is on schedule and enough residents have requested to move that the facility can be closed on time. It also shows that the Community Integration Project (CIP) -- the process that brings together everyone who knows and cares about the individual considering community living to work together on placement plans -- is working well.

After several years of operation, information about the success of the CIP process is becoming well-known to families and guardians of MR hospital residents and others across Kansas. The process has shown unmitigated success; since it was put in place only a handful of people involved in the process have chosen to come back to a state hospital once they have moved to the community.

CIP began in Kansas in 1991. At that time, there were almost 1,000 people in state DD hospitals. Today, that number has dropped by about 400 people to 589 state hospital residents, with 225 of those now requesting community placement.

"The number of people who want community services is getting larger and larger," said Hugh Sage, commissioner of Mental Health and Development Disabilities Services for the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services (SRS). "These choices are coming from family and guardians, the people who can tell when their charge is in an environment they like. More and more often they are finding that environment is in Kansas communities."

Sage emphasized that the movement toward community placement from state hospitals is being done at the same time a waiting list for services from people with developmental disabilities already in the community has been eliminated. In many other states, when a hospital was closed, waiting lists for community services for people outside the hospitals have grown because resources were directed to those leaving the state hospital.

At WSH&TC, of 150 residents remaining in the institution, 136 have requested community placement. Superintendent Bill Brooks said the credibility WSH&TC employees developed with the parents and guardians of residents has been key to a smooth closure process and the high percentage of residents choosing community placement.

"The fact that more than 90 percent of our residents made the choice to go to the community rather than the other institutions has to be a compliment to our staff," he said. "They laid the groundwork. It shows a lot of hard work by our staff."

Brooks said WSH&TC staff have remained focused on the needs of residents as the closure process moves forward.

"We have a charge," said Brooks. "We have tried to stay focused on the residents and their needs until the last person is out the door."

Brooks indicated that a misconception about WSH&TC employees grew during the political process involved in choosing which state hospital to close. He said the misconception was that Winfield employees and management did not believe in community placement for residents.

"We were concerned with the quality of life, and were very, very adamant about it," he said. "We have always said residents have the right to live in the community. That's easy to say, but requires an awful lot of work. We knew what needed to be developed.

"Now, there are excellent supports developed in the community," he said.

Brooks and his executive staff are working to be a model for hospital closure.

"We should be working ourselves out of business," he said. "KNI and Parsons are also going to get smaller and smaller."

With closure, Brooks said, "We want to make sure we did the best we could. If we do this in a professional, dignified manner, maybe they can model a few things after what we've done."

Although movement toward closure at WSH&TC has been smooth, it has also been emotional as employees face the loss of a job and the loss of a work environment many have been in for decades. WSH&TC has been a main source of employment in Winfield since it opened in 1887, often employing members of families for generations.

. The number of employees at WSH&TC has been dropping by 20 each month in recent months, down to less than 500 persons from 800 when closure was announced in the fall of 1995. Assistant to the Superintendent Jim Hays said decisions on how to staff the hospital have had to be made on a case-by-case basis. They have been able, however, to keep the necessary ratios of staff to residents without having to lay off employees.

"We keep patching here, using baling wire here," he said. "We continue to downsize and rearrange."

For employees, a career center staffed by the Kansas Department of Human Resources and a computer learning center have been set up. Mental health and career counseling specialists were brought in soon after the closure announcement was made.

According to WSH&TC executive staff, one of the reasons things appear to be going smoothly toward closure of WSH&TC is Superintendent Brooks himself. He is in his 39th year at the institution, beginning as a laundry truck driver. He also has been a vocational rehabilitation supervisor, a unit director, a special assistant to the superintendent, acting superintendent, and superintendent since January, 1995.

Linda Bailey, director of nursing at WSH&TC, said Brooks has the respect of staff, which is important during a very difficult time.

"Staff knows that everything they're feeling, Bill feels too," she said. "Bill has a vested interest here also."

Brooks said WSH&TC employees and management have geared themselves up to complete the closure process professionally.

"The executive management group has held tight and shown the proper emotions," he said. "If we had shown panic at any point, I think we would have lost a lot.

Page Last Updated: May 29, 2001