Local, state, and national leaders are cheering the potential of a new 72-bed mental health inpatient hospital in Olathe, Kansas, and Alpha-Omega Geotech (AOG) is proud to help bring the important project to life.
Construction is now underway on the $53 million facility designed to care for more than 3,400 patients every year, and go a long way in meeting the overwhelming demand for mental health services in our region. Kansas Governor Laura Kelly was among dignitaries who officially broke ground at the project site in June, making a personal appearance to underscore just how important the hospital’s work will be.
“A lack of psychiatric beds has been one of the largest barriers to providing mental health care in our state,” said Governor Kelly at the event. “When completed, this state-of-the-art hospital will take significant pressure off our health care systems.”
Dignitaries broke ground in June, 2023 on the new mental health hospital construction project in Olathe, Kansas.
The hospital will feature 48 pediatric beds, 24 adult beds, private courtyards, dining areas, activity spaces, and walking paths inviting connection to nature. KVC Health Systems and Children’s Mercy Hospital will work together to operate the facility.
“We are in a mental health crisis nationwide,” said Children’s Mercy President and CEO Paul Kempinski at the project site. “In 2022 alone, Children’s Mercy provided care to nearly 3,000 children in our emergency department with acute mental health needs. This new hospital will take a significant strain off area emergency departments that are not well-suited to facilitate care for patients in mental health crisis.”
Work is now underway to prepare the site for construction near Olathe Medical Center.
Healthcare design experts Pulse Design Group developed the concept, integrating specialized amenities and purposeful spaces to make the hospital an especially valuable community resource. Local construction powerhouse JE Dunn Construction is leading construction. Alpha-Omega Geotech is contributing geotechnical testing and inspection services to ensure build quality ranging from the concrete and steel that forms the structure, to the anchor bolt installations and weld connections that hold it together.
“We’re excited about continuing the good work we’ve been doing for a long time with JE Dunn, and we’re honored to contract with KVC Health Systems to help them make an even bigger impact on people in need,” says AOG Business Development Director Dave Flessner. “It’s a privilege to be part of the project team and the collective effort to boost mental healthcare at a time when it’s desperately needed. This hits home for us at AOG and aligns with our ongoing commitment to improving the local communities where our people work and live.”
AOG will contribute geotechnical testing and special inspections to ensure construction is built to specifications.
AOG is always proud to partner with Children’s Mercy. Our work on Children’s Mercy properties across the Kansas City area dates back to the 1980s. We’ve helped with dozens of projects ranging from parking garages and facility expansions to the recent construction of the stunning Children’s Mercy Research Institute tower — a special badge of honor.
The Children’s Mercy Research Institute under construction in 2020.
A plaque inside the Institute now honors the construction project team.
“Our relationship with Children’s Mercy is almost as old as our firm itself. They know we’re in it for the right reasons. We want to make a difference in our community and we’ll do what it takes, from our skills to our philanthropic efforts,” says AOG CEO and President Allan Bush. “AOG wants to help with projects like the new hospital because they are transformative. Mental health is nothing short of an emergency in this country, and we feel it directly in the construction industry. This hospital will immediately lift up the community.”
Bush also takes pride in the fact that the new hospital expands AOG’s healthcare construction portfolio once again. Our geotechnical engineering has played a key role in construction across the metropolitan area, supporting the work of local institutions such as North Kansas City Hospital, Shawnee Mission Medical Center (now AdventHealth), St. Luke’s, Lawrence Memorial Hospital, and others.
“We’re local, and we focus on locally-based healthcare systems. It always comes with so much satisfaction. The Kansas City area is now known nationally for many important healthcare specialties. It’s just amazing to see the growth. These facilities around town are well-designed, built to last, and you could say many are essentially monuments to the community’s devotion to good health. They symbolize values that all of us living in the heartland can really feel good about.”