Dear Editor,
I was appalled to learn that Kansas Rep. Bill Wolf, from my hometown of Great Bend, had voted to close Kansas Neurological Institute (KNI).
Growing up in Great Bend, I was taught to take care of those in need and to always help the less fortunate. 
Rep. Wolf’s stated background of family values was not reflected in his vote. 
Rather, one would assume that he would demand the continuance of the sophisticated, around-the- clock, professional care required by those stricken with such debilitating conditions. 
Dr. Raymond C. Lumd, 35-year physician at Stormont-Vail Health Care, Topeka’s nationally honored hospital for patient care, presented the following facts concerning the conditions of current KNI patients:
98 percent of the patients at KNI have profound intellectual disabilities;  83 percent cannot speak;  76 percent have seizure disorders;  68 percent are unable to walk;  33 percent receive nutrition through tubes; and  94 percent of these patients have lived at KNI for at least a decade.
In his proposal to close KNI, Gov. Brownback promised that patients would be moved to community-based facilities throughout the state. 
Indeed, community-based sounds good, but ask yourself, “What health care facility in central Kansas is equipped to provide the demanding level of professionally-trained care needed by the severely disabled Kansans currently at KNI?” 
This is not a black mark on community-based care; rather, it is the reality of the sophisticated care required by KNI patients.
Rep. Wolf, please reconsider your position to close KNI, and rise up with your vote to help fellow Kansans who are in such desperate need.
Terry Knowles.
Topeka