Kerrville State Hospital

Kerrville State Hospital is one of ten mental health facilities in the Texas Department of State Health Services system and provides care for adults with major mental illnesses who need the safety, structure and resources of an inpatient setting.  The hospital operates 202 beds for individuals hospitalized on a forensic commitment.  Most such commitments are issued when individuals are charged with a crime and they have been determined to be not competent to stand trial.  Hospital programs are designed to help such individuals attain competency if possible by treating their mental illness.  Care is also provided for individuals who have been judged to be Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity with the goal of treating their mental illnesses so that they may be safely returned to the community.  Most patients are admitted on transfer from the secure treatment facility – North Texas State Hospital Vernon Campus – after a determination that they are not manifestly dangerous and require a long length of stay.  Individuals served come from throughout the state of Texas.

The hospital began providing psychiatric treatment in 1951 for a designated group of counties in the Texas Hill Country.  KSH began its transition to a forensic facility in 1999 in response to an increase in demand while the demand for general psychiatric hospital care in the counties served was steadily declining.  Eight of the patient treatment units are located in a single building which opened in 1992.  Treatment is organized at the unit level and patients are assigned based on matching their treatment needs to the unit program.

Kerrville State Hospital is accredited by the Joint Commission, an independent, not-for-profit organization, which sets standards for, and evaluates health care organizations in accordance with nationally recognized guidelines.  The standards include the facility’s level of performance in key functional areas such as: patient rights, patient treatment and infection control.  They also focus on the hospital’s ability to provide safe, high-quality care.  To earn and maintain accreditation, an organization must undergo an on-site survey by a Joint Commission survey team about every three years.  KSH was last surveyed in October 2006 and accredited for a three-year period.  The hospital is also certified for participation in the Medicare program.

Joint Commission Web Site Links For Patients and Families

File a Joint Commission complaint

Superintendent: Stephen Anfinson
Clinical Director: Janet True, M.D.

Last Updated September 14, 2009