Building a Stronger, Healthier Future
The partnership between University Health, the Missouri Department of Mental Health, and Kansas City continues to grow stronger each year.
The new psychiatric hospital in Kansas City will be a gamechanger, expanding access to care, and enhancing the ability to serve individuals experiencing mental health crises while helping to break down stigma and improve outcomes for those in need.
Updated information:
May 27, 2026, A second meeting was held with representatives of the Kansas City northeast neighborhoods. Rep. Wick Thomas coordinated the meeting and invited community members from the surrounding neighborhoods. Rep. Thomas along with representatives from the Department of Mental Health, University Health, design contractor HDR, and the Office of Administration-Facilities, Maintenance, Design and Construction division, shared updates and discussed the neighborhood questions, concerns, and recommendations.
March 5, 2026, State Representative Wick Thomas held a community update and listening session to provide the latest details on the hospital and gather input on the project from community members. Attendees heard updates from State Rep. Thomas, Sharon Freese with University Health, Megan Roedel and Dale Cassmeyer from the Missouri Department of Mental Health, and Shayne Martin with the Missouri Office of Administration.
The first planning and design workshop was held on December 10, 2025. Team members from the Department of Mental Health, the Office of Administration (OA) - Facilities, Management, Design & Construction, University Health and HDR participated in discussions about programming, planning and conceptual design. From Workshop #1, HDR will take the team's input and begin creating 3-d models and site layout options for review and comment.
Workshop #2 is scheduled for the last week of January.
The closing on the land conveyed from Kansas City was completed on November 4.
A design kick-off meeting for the new Kansas City Hospital was held on October 14 at the Center for Behavioral Medicine (CBM). After the kick-off, the first programming meeting began, which included the design contractor HDR, CBM’s programming team, University Health’s programming team and OA-FMDC’s project management team.
The design consultant contract was fully executed on October 3.
On July 16, 2025, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas hosted a ceremonial signing for the new State Mental Health Hospital official land transfer. The project will be constructed in partnership with the State of Missouri and University Health. Photos of the Belvidere Park land are in the gallery and more information on this event is under News webpage.
Please check back regularly to learn the latest on this project.