> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.citizenjournal.us/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Douglas County Commission Summary - URL: https://www.citizenjournal.us/douglas-county-commission-summary-32/ - Published: 2026-09-10T13:34:49.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-10T13:34:49.000Z - Description: Week of September 10, 2026 - Author: Cronkite - Tags: lcj, #summary, dnn # Heartland Community Health Center sees surge in psychiatric patients # Youth mental health demand grows, prompting targeted psychiatric care # Integrated care model connects psychiatry with primary health services # Clinic prioritizes urgent psychiatric referrals amid ongoing waitlists # Clinic implements new strategies to combat psychiatric appointment no-shows # Health center aims to stabilize psychiatric staffing to meet baseline demand # Looming Medicaid changes prompt fiscal contingency planning at Heartland # Privacy concerns shape health center's coordination with local schools --- ### 1\. Heartland Community Health Center sees surge in psychiatric patients LAWRENCE, Kan. — Psychiatric patient volumes at Heartland Community Health Center have surged over the past eight years, with quarterly encounters rising from fewer than 500 in 2018 to more than 2,000 in 2026\. During a Douglas County Commission work session Sept. 9, clinic leadership reported projecting 9,800 annual psychiatry encounters by the end of this calendar year. Heartland chief operations officer Rachel Hartford attributed the growth to a renewed strategic focus on building sustainable behavioral health capacity, fueled by ongoing local investments and expanded facilities. --- ### 2\. Youth mental health demand grows, prompting targeted psychiatric care LAWRENCE, Kan. — Children and teens now represent nearly 40 percent of all psychiatric patients at Heartland Community Health Center, a significant shift from 2022 when 85 percent of the clinic's patients were adults. Director of psychiatry Dr. Nick Evangelidis noted that one in five patients is between the ages of 3 and 12, reflecting a persistent behavioral health need among school-aged children. The clinic recently expanded its pediatric footprint by integrating psychiatric care into the Panda Pediatrics building to better serve youth and adolescents. --- ### 3\. Integrated care model connects psychiatry with primary health services LAWRENCE, Kan. — Instead of operating as a standalone specialty, psychiatric care at Heartland Community Health Center has been fully integrated into the clinic's broader primary care system. Patients accessing psychiatric help are frequently connected to concurrent services, including substance use disorder treatment, dental care and primary medicine. Officials emphasized that this whole-person approach helps stabilize patients before they reach a crisis point and ensures continuity of care following hospitalizations or acute mental health events. --- ### 4\. Clinic prioritizes urgent psychiatric referrals amid ongoing waitlists LAWRENCE, Kan. — While routine psychiatric appointments can still carry a waitlist of several months, Heartland Community Health Center prioritizes urgent community referrals, typically getting acute cases seen within a couple of weeks. Dr. Nick Evangelidis stated that local pediatricians, private therapists and the LMH Health emergency room regularly route urgent cases to the clinic. The upcoming addition of two new providers is expected to significantly reduce wait times for both routine and urgent pediatric care by the end of the year. --- ### 5\. Clinic implements new strategies to combat psychiatric appointment no-shows LAWRENCE, Kan. — Facing an overall psychiatric no-show rate of 19 percent, Heartland Community Health Center is deploying new tactics to ensure appointment slots are not wasted. While the pediatric no-show rate sits at just 10 percent, new adult patients miss their initial appointments nearly 25 percent of the time, according to a clinic quality leader. In response, the clinic has shifted to "pro-social" reminder calls that emphasize freeing up slots for others in need, and care coordinators actively work to fill last-minute cancellations with telehealth visits or urgent referrals. --- ### 6\. Health center aims to stabilize psychiatric staffing to meet baseline demand LAWRENCE, Kan. — To maintain current access levels without expanding, Heartland Community Health Center requires six full-time equivalent psychiatric providers, clinic officials told Douglas County commissioners. After starting the year with six providers, the clinic temporarily dropped to four this summer due to staff departures, prompting a backlog in routine appointments. However, the center expects to return to baseline capacity by late fall with the onboarding of two new providers focusing on patients 26 and under. --- ### 7\. Looming Medicaid changes prompt fiscal contingency planning at Heartland LAWRENCE, Kan. — Heartland Community Health Center is bracing for potential financial impacts stemming from what Chief Executive Officer Julie Branstrom described as anticipated 2027 changes to Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement rates. Branstrom told commissioners the clinic is running worst-case scenario budgets and increasing its staff of community health workers to help patients navigate expiring coverage or transition to marketplace insurance. The clinic is also leveraging value-based care strategies to maintain fiscal sustainability while ensuring continued access for low-income populations. --- ### 8\. Privacy concerns shape health center's coordination with local schools LAWRENCE, Kan. — Addressing questions about how Heartland Community Health Center partners with local school districts, Dr. Nick Evangelidis explained that strict privacy laws prevent direct communication with schools in most child psychiatry cases. Instead, the clinic focuses heavily on educating parents on how to navigate the school system and advocate for Individualized Education Programs for their children. Community health workers also assist families by attending school meetings and helping to bridge the gap between behavioral health treatments and educational needs. --- [Click here for local obituaries](https://cjus.me/lcj-obit?ref=citizenjournal.us) [Click here for local jail logs](https://cjus.me/lcj-jail?ref=citizenjournal.us) --- --- Found a mistake? Have a news tip or feedback to share? 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