LARNED ? Kansas launched an audit Tuesday of a state mental hospital’s finances, a day after the announcement that its chief financial officer no longer was affiliated with the institution.

Larned State Hospital’s superintendent and special counsel, William Rein, announced David Fender’s departure Monday in an email to staff, writing without elaborating that Fender “is no longer employed” by the hospital, The Wichita Eagle reported. Fender was hired in August of last year.

A spokeswoman for the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services — overseer of state hospitals that provide mental health services — declined to discuss reasons for Fender’s departure last Friday, calling it a private personnel matter.

Angela de Rocha added that although the department has “no reason to believe anything is amiss” at Larned, the agency’s internal auditing unit is scrutinizing the hospital’s finances.

Another state hospital, in Osawatomie, lost its federal Medicare certification in December after federal auditors raised concerns about safety at that site. Kansas lawmakers also have raised concerns about Larned’s conditions.