Kanza board votes to buy part of Moser Building Complex

 

The governing board for Kanza Mental Health and Guidance Center, Inc., has voted 6-1 with one abstaining board member, to purchase part of the Moser Building Complex in Holton (the old Holton Community Hospital building located at the corner of Fifth Street and Kansas Avenue) for an estimated price of $330,000, it has been reported.

Kanza's request to have Jackson County as the sponsor for a $740,000 Community Development Block Grant to remodel the Moser Building, however, has not gained favor with the Jackson County Commissioners so far.

Kanza Mental Health and Guidance Center, Inc., has been providing mental health services to Brown, Doniphan, Jackson and Nemaha counties since 1963.

The main office for Kanza is located in Brown County at Hiawatha. A branch office is located in Jackson County, in Holton, at 713 Idaho. Kanza also has satellite offices in Troy, Seneca and Sabetha.

Scott Foster of Holton is a member of Kanza's governing board but abstained from voting on the issue, it was reported.

Other members of Kanza's governing board are: Karen Stous and Mellissa Morse of Jackson County; Kent Saylor, Tim Burdiek and Jennifer Nagley of Nemaha County; Robert Wayman, David Van Laar and Charles Baskins of Doniphan County; and JoAnn Davidson, Steve Davies, Sheila Koelliker and Richard Lehmkuhl of Brown County.

Jackson County has a mental health contract with Kanza and currently provides $71,974 in annual funding ($64,974 plus $7,000 in county liquor tax collected). Nemaha County provides $59,000 in funding to Kanza, while Doniphan provides $28,111 and Brown provides $70,000. Other funding for Kanza comes from services rendered to clients and about $500,000 in funds from the state.

The Holton branch office for Kanza is currently open 40 hours per week, 8 a.m.to 6 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

A total of 69.5 therapist hours are now offered in Jackson County each week. That is an increase of 23 therapist hours, which started June 1.

David Elsbury, CEO for Kanza, and Margaret Ross, clinical director and crisis services coordinator for Kanza, met with county commissioners here on Monday, explaining in part, Kanza's interest in expanding services in the county.

The 23 additional therapist hours now offered in the county are already fully scheduled with clients, Elsbury and Ross said.

In addition, the Holton branch is the only Kanza satellite office that provides the intake/mental health evaluation, which is the initial step for receiving Kanza services.

With the plans for expansion in Jackson County, Ross said she envisioned the hiring of a full time mid level management therapist position to the clinic plus another 30 hours of additional therapist time for a total of an additional 70 hours of therapist time per week.

Ross said that a lack of office space at the current Holton facility was the reason Kanza needed to move to the Moser Building Complex, where 13,500 sq. ft. is available.

Kanza currently provides seven hours of psychiatric nurse practitioner time. Kanza also provides child and adult case management services five days a week in Jackson County. When a client is on a crisis intervention plan or a med box service (meaning a case manager goes to the client's home to ensure the client is taking meds as prescribed), these services are provided on Saturday and Sunday, as well as 24 hours/seven days a week crisis services by the outpatient department.

Kanza has a children's Summer Success program in Holton for children in Jackson and Nemaha counties that runs all summer for severely emotionally disturbed childen ages 4-17. Kanza provides the transportation to and from the camp for these children.

Through May of this year, the Kanza office in Holton provided mental health services for 289 outpatient cases, provided 39 community support services for adults with mental illnesses and 65 community based services for emotionally disturbed children ages 4-18 or older, it was reported.

Elsbury and Ross also reported that Kanza provides  "lots of substance abuse'' services and provides mental health services to some people for reduced fees. In some cases, fees are waived, they said.

County commissioners say they are not interested in sponsoring a CDBG application for Kanza if the county would have any liability exposure, or funding match requirement. County Counselor Alex Morrissey has been asked to review such CDBG requirements and any related default clauses.

Elsbury said this morning that there would not be any county funds involved and that Kanza would pay all costs related to the CDBG, including the cost of a grant administrator.

The Moser Building Complex, consisting of two buildings, has two owners. One is Foster and the other Giant Communications. Kanza seeks to purchase only the portion of the complex owned by Foster.

Kanza already has a presence in the Moser Building, along with Youth Services for the Second Judicial District.

The Holton Recorder

109 W. Fourth St.
Holton, KS 66436
Phone: 785-364-3141
 

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