Beshear to make major funding announcement regarding Eastern State Hospital

Gov. Steve Beshear will make a major announcement Friday regarding funding for a new Eastern State Hospital at a 1 p.m. news conference in the Capitol.

The announcement deals with "finding some alternative mechanism of funding it other than the state funding it," said Rep. Jesse Crenshaw, a Lexington Democrat whose district includes the aging state psychiatric hospital on Newtown Pike.

Crenshaw, who did not attend a briefing of Central Kentucky lawmakers held after the House adjourned for the week Friday morning, said the proposal likely calls for the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government to issue bonds for the project.

"It's a big deal," said Rep. Don Pasley, D-Winchester, who did attend the briefing but declined to provide further details.

Lexington Mayor Jim Newberry and a representative from the University of Kentucky are scheduled to speak at the news conference.

Advocates for the mentally ill and the organization that runs Eastern State have been lobbying for years to replace the second-oldest psychiatric facility in the country. Beshear's proposed budget contains money to plan for the eventual replacement of Eastern State, but not the estimated $130 million needed to build the facility.

The hospital is operated by the Bluegrass Regional Mental Health-Mental Retardation Board.

Last summer, state officials stood on the steps of Eastern State's administrative office and pledged that a new state hospital would be built, but the prospect of a groundbreaking in the next few years turned bleak after the state's budget woes became clear in December.

Check Kentucky.com and Saturday's Herald-Leader for more on this story.

- John Stamper