KHI hosts panel to discuss growing mental health needs across Kansas

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - The Kansas Health Institute Learning Center hosted a panel Wednesday morning to discuss the growing mental health needs of youth and young adults in the state.

The presentation touched on suicide rates, mental health rankings, and a survey from Kansas Communities that Care.

Among those in attendance were mental leaders hospital systems, health care providers, nonprofit groups, and local health departments.

Discussions centered around the available mental health resources and meeting the needs of those who need help.

”There’s been increasing mental health challenges, increasing before and through COVID, and I think the secondary data we’ll talk about show that there’s a need for this conversation and anecdotally in conversation with leaders and our family members and our significant others i think we see that this a meaningful conversation to have to think about can we make improvements and better meet those needs of our youth and young adults,” said Wyatt Beckman, senior analyst at KHI.

One study cited in the presentation ranked each state based on the prevalence of mental illness as well as the access its residents had to outpatient mental health services.

Kansas was ranked 50th.

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