Rainbow Mental Health Facility to hold town hall meeting

The organizations involved with the revamped Rainbow Mental Health Facility in Kansas City, Kan., are holding a town hall meeting Friday to explain the changes.

Officials have scheduled the meeting for 10 a.m. at the Johnson County Mental Center, 6000 Lamar Ave. in Mission, Kan.

Last week, Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback announced that Rainbow will reopen as a crisis-stabilization resource serving Johnson and Wyandotte counties. Plans call for it to begin operations by April 1.

State officials closed all but six of Rainbow’s beds in 2011 after federal surveyors said the facility was understaffed and the state fire marshal found safety violations. The state converted the six beds to a crisis stabilization unit.

Wyandot Center, the community mental health center in Kansas City, Kan., is managing the new facility.

Also included in the collaboration are the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services, the Johnson County Mental Health Center and the Heartland Regional Alcohol and Drug Assessment Center.

According to Wyandot Center, the expanded continuum of care at Rainbow will provide a broader array of services as alternatives to hospitalization or jail for people who can benefit from community-based interventions.

Major Funding for Health coverage on KCPT provided by Assurant Employee Benefits and the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City.