Kansas Won’t Fight Move of Famed Clinic to Texas

Kansas officials said Friday that they would not fight the planned departure of the Menninger Clinic, the renowned Topeka-based psychiatric hospital, to Texas.

Earlier this week, Menninger officials said they were negotiating an alliance with a health care conglomerate that would end its 75 years of independence but shore up the clinic financially.

Menninger, one of the last independent psychiatric facilities in the United States, would move to Houston and link itself with the Baylor College of Medicine and Methodist Health Care System.

The trio would open a national center for specialized psychiatric services and create a brain and behavior research institute. Plans call for building a research endowment of more than $200 million.

Though a final agreement is not likely to be signed until early next year, Kansas officials said Friday they have reluctantly conceded the loss.

Kansas had offered Menninger up to $100 million in incentives to stay put.

“They’ve made it clear that there simply is not any action we can take at this point to change their direction,” said Don Brown, a spokesman for Kansas Gov. Bill Graves.

“It is a significant loss. Menninger has been here for 75 years, and there is a sense of disbelief that they could just sever ties and leave.”

Menninger officials said their operations in Kansas, based in Topeka since 1925, were struggling.

The move will reduce operating expenses, add research capabilities, a larger metropolitan area as its home base, access to an international airport and other benefits, they said.