Rainbow Mental Health Hospital was on the verge of being closed several years ago.  The mental health services it provides are essential to Johnson and Wyandotte counties.  Both Johnson and Wyandotte legislative delegations wanted the needed services to stay intact and improved. Specifically we wanted emphasis put on crisis stabilization services to keep patients out of jail and have the patients receive the needed services in the right environment.  Pete Zevenbergen, President of Wyandotte County mental health services worked with Johnson county mental health clinics and both sheriffs of each county to develop a model that works to better serve the patients and our counties.  On Thursday Governor Brownback traveled to Rainbow and made an announcement that the state had come to an agreement to transform services at Rainbow.  Governor Brownback summed it up efficiently in telling the overflowing crowd "This is the most significant change we have made to our system of providing mental health care to Kansans in two decades.  Our goal is to establish and support alternative community programs that will decrease reliance on Osawatomie State Hospital (OSH) and the unnecessary use of local emergency rooms and jails." 

The new Rainbow Mental Health Model is a long term solution for Wyandotte and Johnson County.  Representative Kathy Wolf-Moore and I worked together across party lines to ensure these needed services would be offered and the funding would be in place for long-term success.  Johnson County Sheriff Frank Denning has often said public safety officers and the mental health patients need a 'Port in the Storm.' The new Rainbow model with emphasis on crisis stabilization services will provide this safe port for both the mental health patients and public safety officers.

Marearl and I spent the weekend at the Kansas Republican Party State Convention in Wichita. Guest speakers included U.S. Representative Tom Cotton from Arkansas and U.S. Senator Tim Scott from South Carolina. We attended many classes to ensure we get Governor Brownback re-elected as well as continuing our efforts of getting all of our U.S. Senators, U.S. Congressmen and U.S. Congresswomen, and State wide officials re-elected. We refer to this as the "Clean Sweep." Everyone was upbeat with the real potential of Republicans taking majority control of the U.S. Senate in November. Thanks goes to Senator Jerry Moran for spear heading this nationwide effort.

On a personal note. Marearl was ceremoniously awarded the Huck Boyd Volunteer of the Year Award. She received the award at the 2011 KS GOP Convention but she was unable to attend the convention because she was hospitalized with pneumonia. Congratulations to Marearl for the recognition and a big thank you for all she does for Republicans.