Construction starts on Fulton State Mental Hospital

Wednesday, Gov. Nixon and hospital administrators broke ground on the new multi-million dollar Fulton State Hospital.

Gov. Nixon said the work is extremely important because it is Missouri’s only maximum security psychiatric facility. The current building is over 150 years old.

Last year, lawmakers in Jefferson City agreed to move forward with construction.

The groundbreaking Wednesday was for one of several buildings planned on the campus.

Governor Nixon said not only are there multiple cosmetic problems with the hospital, he said the treatment areas lack privacy and the old architecture makes patient supervision difficult, putting employees in dangerous situations.

“The architecture of residential wings has made supervision difficult and has put patient and staff safety at risk. Such challenging working conditions has made it hard to retain and recruit employees. Bottom line, the situation was unacceptable,” he said.

The facility has seen its share of staff injuries. In fact, it’s the most dangerous facility in Missouri for state workers.

In 2011, more than 600 employees were hurt on the job. That number fell a little in 2012 and 2013, but the number of injuries was still more than 500.

“We’re obliged to provide Missourians suffering from mental illness the best care we possibly can with the limits of current scientific knowledge. That is precisely what they will receive here at the new Fulton Hospital,” said Governor Nixon.

The governor said when it is finished, the facility could create as many as 2,500 jobs.

Overall, the project is expected to cost about $211 million. It should be done in 2017.