Northeast News
November 25, 2015

JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri — Attorney General Chris Koster announced earlier this month that full funding is now in place for the Kansas City area mental health assessment and triage center announced in October.

Kansas City area hospitals will contribute $1 million per year for the two-year pilot study, on top of the $2 million per year from an agreement forged by Koster with Ascension Health, LLC following their sale of two area hospitals. The assessment and triage center is expected to cost $3 million per year.

In a press release, Koster said it was his hope when the deal was being negotiated that a settlement with Ascension that the $20 million pledge would be the, “impetus for this project to go forward.” He looks forward to seeing the assessment and triage center begin operating next year to provide critical mental health services in the Kansas City area.

The proposed center is intended to offer triage, stabilization, and referral services for individuals who are experiencing a psychiatric or substance-abuse-induced crisis. It is the product of more than two years of collaboration by representatives of the Missouri Department of Mental Health, the Kansas City Municipal Court, Kansas City officials, the Missouri Hospital Association, and other community leaders. The facility will be located at 2600 E. 12th St., in a building already owned by the Missouri Department of Mental Health. Kansas City has agreed to assume the cost of renovating the building for the project’s use.