Missouri mental health officials are hoping Governor Nixon and state lawmakers will include the Fulton State Hospital in a proposed state bonding package.
The hospital is Missouri's only maximum and intermediate security psychiatric hospital and is the oldest public mental health facility west of the Mississippi River.
The Department of Mental Health is proposing a new 300 bed, high-security facility that would cost about $211 million.
Officials say current facilities are antiquated and a new building would save utility cots and make for a safer facility.
Fulton State Hospital is in Fulton, Missouri, about 100 miles west of St. Louis.
