The Richmond State Hospital may look like it always has, but there are lots of changes going on within the walls of the campus.

The hospital is a state run entity that has been serving the mentally ill, substance abuse, psychiatric, and transition patients in Wayne County and the surrounding area since 1890.

The state recently told the hospital it would be changing hands to become a privately owned facility.  The hospital’s human relations director explained the plan.

"Localization originated by FSSA Director Mitch Roob.  He introduced the concept with the idea that the state needs to get out of owning agencies that provide the type of services we do and rather contract those services," Jamison said about the localization idea.

Jamison said the administration sees many benefits with the idea of localization.  Some of these benefits may be an easier hiring process for the hospital, more revenue going directly to the hospital, and eliminating many of the hoops the hospital is forced to jump through because they are a state owned facility.

Although Jamison and the administration is optimistic about the transition, not all hospital employees are as excited.  Some employees are torn at the idea.

Ron Richmond of the staff development department said, "It's good and bad.  The bad is it's a little frightening and uncertain.  It's going to be liberating to stretch out beyond what Indiana has let us do before."

 Others, like Pharmacy Tech Pamela Luff are a little more hesitant.

"It's scary because you just don't know.  Since the state has never done this, I understand they can't answer a lot of questions, but because you just don't know what to expect, it's scary."

As many employees watch to see what develops, local health leaders are making plans to take matters into their own hands.  Friday, a board called Behavior Healthcare Services Incorporated, composed of local mental health specialists, announced they were placing a bid into the state to take over the hospital.

The BHSS is the only bid the state received, and administrators feel confident the hospital will stay in the hands of local leaders.  Jamison said the board will now be taking the next steps in deciding how they will run the hospital and how the change will effect the employees.

Carmie Kitchin, an RN, said, "Everyone’s being told that they are going to have a job if they pass the drug and background tests – the thing is they don’t bother to tell you what kind of job you’ll have or where."

With the hospital being the fifth largest employer in the county, over 600 people could be directly affected by the change and many are just worried about the unknown.

Jamison tried to put some minds at ease.  "I know there's a lot of anxiety and a lot of frustration on the employees' part because there are a lot of unknowns but we really need to change with the times."