Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has announced plans to use a bond issue to pay for construction of a new state psychiatric hospital in Fulton.
Fulton State Hospital opened in 1851 and is the oldest state mental hospital west of the Mississippi River. Nixon says the bond issue will be part of his overall state budget request for next year, and that it’s sorely needed to rebuild an aging and sometimes dangerous facility.
“Based on workers’ compensation costs, it’s far more dangerous to work here at Fulton than any Department of Corrections facility,” said Nixon.
Nixon says the bond issue is designed to generate roughly $200 million toward the estimated $211million price tag.
He’s also released $11 million earmarked for the new facility’s design phase.