By Brian R. Hook
January 26, 2010

(KansasReporter) TOPEKA, Kan. – Gov. Mark Parkinson spared the Kansas Neurological Institute Tuesday from closing, at least for now.

The governor said it was not possible to transition all of the residents from KNI, a division of the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services that serves Kansans with severe developmental disabilities, into Parsons State Hospital.

The Facilities Closure and Realignment Commission, set up by former Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, recommended the closure of KNI, located in Topeka, last fall. Under the plan, the residents would have been transitioned to another state-run hospital in Parsons, Kan.

Instead, Gov. Parkinson issued an executive order to begin a phased reduction of the 158 residents at KNI and 191 residents at Parsons into community-based services that could eventually lead to the closure of one of the institutions in three to four years.