AdventHealth Celebrates 50th Anniversary of Behavioral Health; Announces Campaign to Support Additional Initiatives

November 21, 2024 — AdventHealth Shawnee Mission is celebrating 50 years of providing behavioral healthcare in Kansas City with the launch of a fundraising campaign to further expand services at its flagship campus located at 75^th Street and I-35. In 2023, renovations began on the first phase of a new 4,000-square-foot behavioral health outpatient services center, made possible by a $1 million gift to AdventHealth Kansas City Foundation from Dr. Doug and Barbara Cusick which began the quiet phase of a $15 million campaign. Nearly $7 million of the campaign has been raised from donors already.

To support the growing demand for behavioral healthcare services in the region, the AdventHealth Kansas City Foundation launched a fundraising campaign with three goals: completing the first floor of the new behavioral health outpatient clinic, creating a dedicated space to expand Intensive Outpatient Therapy on the second floor, and renovating the hospital’s inpatient behavioral health unit.

“For 50 years, AdventHealth Shawnee Mission has supported the behavioral health needs of the Kansas City region, aligned with our commitment to whole-person care which supports the body, mind and spirit,” said Sam Huenergardt, CEO for the Mid-America Region of AdventHealth. “We are proud to continue that care and grateful for the generosity of donors who understand the need and support this mission.”

The renovations and expansion will not only increase availability of behavioral health services in the Kansas City area, but will also create intentional, welcoming spaces in a healing environment. Once the campaign is complete, AdventHealth will be able to offer more treatment options with a continuum of care to provide support through patients’ entire treatment journeys.

“For the past several years, our Community Health Needs Assessments have shown that behavioral health continues to be a major challenge in our community, with a lack of available resources and treatment options,” said Laurie McCormack, executive director of AdventHealth Kansas City Foundation. “Launching the public phase of this campaign will help ensure Kansas Citians have access to the care and resources they need, backed by AdventHealth’s whole-person approach.”

AdventHealth’s Behavioral Health team is led by AdventHealth Administrative Director Rennie Shuler-McKinney, MS, LCP. The team is committed to helping patients find hope with solutions and treatments for depression, grief, trauma, addiction recovery, or other behavioral issues through outpatient and in-patient programs. Services include advanced behavioral health treatment options, such as Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), a noninvasive procedure that uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain.

“The behavioral health services and clinical professionals at AdventHealth are a godsend to many people in the Kansas City community,” said Barbara Cusick, philanthropic leader and AdventHealth Kansas City Foundation Board of Directors Member. “Contributing to this important program means so much to Doug and me knowing that more people will have access to the best resources in the region, and comforting, compassionate care specific to their mental health.”

AdventHealth partnered with Evardy Construction, h/d Architecture and 5By5 Engineers to design and build the first phase of the project.

About AdventHealth in Kansas City

With a sacred mission of Extending the Healing Ministry of Christ, AdventHealth is a connected system of care for every stage of life and health. A focus on whole-person health and commitment to caring for the body, mind and spirit unify the system's more than 50 hospital campuses and hundreds of care sites in diverse markets throughout almost a dozen states. AdventHealth in Kansas City includes AdventHealth Shawnee Mission in Merriam, AdventHealth South Overland Park, AdventHealth Lenexa, AdventHealth College Boulevard in Overland Park, three AdventHealth Centra Care locations and 23 AdventHealth Medical Group primary and specialty care clinics. Click here for more information.