Update: We’ve announced Children’s Mercy Kansas City as our joint venture partner in creating this mental wellness campus. Learn more about the KVC and Children’s Mercy partnership here.

KVC Health Systems (kvc.org), a national leader in delivering specialized mental and behavioral healthcare, has received a $12.725 million SPARK grant from the State of Kansas to expand inpatient pediatric and adult mental health treatment capacity in the greater Kansas City area and across the region. This significant gift has ignited a $53 million philanthropic campaign to build a new 72-bed mental health hospital. KVC has formed a joint venture (JV) with a soon-to-be-announced partner, and the new JV will build the inpatient hospital in Olathe, Kan. adjacent to KVC’s office. Target for opening is late 2024.

The JV will engage KVC’s subsidiary Camber Mental Health (cambermentalhealth.org), the region’s leading provider of children’s mental health services, to operate the Olathe facility for children and adults. Camber Mental Health operates three children’s mental health hospitals in Kansas City, Wichita, and Hays. Camber’s trauma-informed, neuroscience-driven inpatient mental health treatment model is proven to elevate mental health and community health outcomes.

Hooper

“We are pleased that the State of Kansas has committed generous support through a $12.725 million Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas (SPARK) grant for this unique project aimed at elevating mental health,” said Jason Hooper, KVC Health Systems President and CEO. “We’ve seen an alarming increase in mental health needs for both youth and adults, including increased suicidality. We are proud to expand the life-saving care needed in our community.”

The new facility will serve as an inpatient mental health healing campus, which will include three separate 24-bed units – 48 pediatric beds and 24 adult beds, six private courtyards, walking paths, and dining and activity space. The design and healing environment are centered on staff and patient safety, supportive care and treatment spaces, patient wellness, and connection with nature.

Gov. Kelly

“A lack of psychiatric beds has been one of the largest barriers to providing mental health care in our state,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “Through the work of the Kansas Department for Disability and Aging Services, the SPARK Committee, and KVC, the construction of this wellness campus will expand access to care for Kansans in crisis.”

From 2019-21, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), youth suicide attempts in Kansas led to a 68% increase in emergency department visits, and the National Institutes of Health reports that there was a significant increase in ED visits for adults for suicidality, substance use overdoses, and mental health crises. This new mental health hospital will help reverse these trends.

$75 Million in Philanthropic Support for 3 Mental Health Hospitals

KVC and its partners are securing additional philanthropic support for this $53 million project, which includes a 72,700-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility. It will have capacity to care for more than 3,400 patients annually and will create approximately 150 new jobs.

The Olathe hospital is the capstone in KVC’s regional mental health model. Once all philanthropic support is secured, donors will have contributed more than $75 million to open three new life-saving Camber Mental Health hospitals in Wichita, Hays, and Olathe, serving all of Kansas and the KC metro.

Lead donors for the creation of Camber Children’s Mental Health in Wichita (2019 opening) include the Sunderland Foundation, JE & LE Mabee Foundation, Dwane & Velma Wallace Foundation, and the Ball Family. Lead donors for the creation of Camber Children’s Mental Health in Hays (2023 opening) include the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS), the Patterson Family Foundation, the Schmidt Family Foundation, and the Dane G. Hansen Foundation. Additional lead funding and JV partner for the Olathe mental wellness campus will be announced soon.

KVC is proud to partner with JE Dunn Construction as the design-builder and Hoefer Welker as the architect and interior designer on this innovative inpatient hospital and mental wellness campus.

For help during a mental health emergency, please call 911 or go to your local emergency room or community mental health center. You can also call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.

About KVC Health Systems and Camber Mental Health
KVC Health Systems is a family of private, nonprofit organizations that strengthen families, prevent child abuse and neglect, and help people achieve mental health wellness. The KVC network has over 2,400 employees nationwide across 60 locations in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Kentucky, and West Virginia. KVC has positively impacted the lives of over 300,000 people in its 50+ year history of providing heart-centered service and is proud to have a high Indeed Work Wellbeing score of 76, demonstrating it is a great place to work. KVC’s subsidiary, Camber Mental Health, is the leading regional provider of children’s mental health services with a network of nonprofit hospitals and residential treatment centers. Camber has spent over 30 years developing unique behavioral health therapies and is an internationally recognized educational resource for healthcare providers, first responders, school districts, and a wide range of community partners. KVC is accredited by The Joint Commission, considered the gold standard in healthcare. Learn more at kvc.org and cambermentalhealth.org, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Twitter.

Media Contact: Jenny Kutz, KVC Health Systems
(913) 424-3162 or jkutz@kvc.org

High resolution renderings available on request