Nixon to announce plan for new Fulton State Hospital

Fulton State Hospital opened in 1851, and is the nation's oldest public mental health facility west of the Mississippi River.

On Monday afternoon, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon will travel to the hospital to announce his proposal for building a newer hospital.

Lawmakers last spring added $13.8 million to the two-year capital improvements bill to begin designing the new facility.

The governor is scheduled to detail his proposal in a 1:30 p.m. news conference in Fulton at the hospital's administration building, 600 E. Fifth St.

A number of lawmakers have toured the facility and its aging buildings in recent years.

Hospital employees over the years have cited numerous safety and patient-care problems with the current hospital's conditions.