25 years ago: Improvements made at state hospitals

From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Jan. 3, 1986:

  • Looking back at the previous year’s weather, Lawrence residents may have remembered that 1985 had started with 7.4 inches of sleet and snow, ushering in a very wet year. The Kansas University Weather Service reported that the city had received 16.23 inches above normal precipitation during the previous year.
  • Kansas legislators were facing several requests for budget increases in the coming year. Heading the list was a “desperate need” for more prison space, according to state corrections officials.
  • Problems at state hospitals for people with developmental disabilities had surfaced the previous April, when investigators had found Winfield State Hospital “in chaos” and had also cited the hospital with not providing a “structured, well-supervised environment that fosters learning.” After threatening to decertify the hospital, which would have cut off $7.3 million in annual Medicaid funds, the legislature had approved spending to hire 97 new employees. Additional staff positions had also been approved at Parsons State Hospital and Training Center and at the Kansas Neurological Institute.