NON-PROFIT: Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center

With the vital support of the Douglas County community, Bert Nash continues to provide compassionate and innovative mental health services to its residents.

To celebrate the Bert Nash Center’s 75th, Landmark National Bank generously commissioned a portrait of Dr. Bert Nash by local artist John Sebelius. The painting was unveiled in April and will have a permanent home at the Center

Sandra Shaw was CEO of the Bert Nash Center from 1979 until her retirement in 2001. During her tenure, the Center staff increased from 9 to 179 team members. The Sandra Shaw Community Health Park was dedicated in 2014.

Three years after Bert Nash’s untimely death, community leaders established the Bert Nash Mental Health Clinic, as it was initially called, as a “living memorial” to continue the work that the distinguished University of Kansas educational psychologist had begun.

Many things have changed in the daily operations of the Bert Nash Center since its inception in 1950. However, one thing that has remained constant over the past 75 years is the Center’s unwavering commitment to providing compassionate and innovative mental health services to the residents of Douglas County. The Center served more than 6,000 individuals in 2024.

“Thousands of lives have been helped and changed over the past 75 years because of the vision Dr. Nash had for providing behavioral health services to the residents of Douglas County,” says Patrick Schmitz, Bert Nash Center CEO. “We are proud to carry on that work, and we are proud of our community for dedicating a mental health center in Dr. Nash’s name.”

From the beginning, community support has played a vital role in the Bert Nash Center’s history. After the death of the Center’s namesake in 1947, it was the community’s resolve to continue Nash’s pioneering work that inspired the founding of a mental health clinic in the first place.

With the steadfast backing of both the community and local governing bodies, the 75th anniversary theme, “Growing Together,” reflects the strong bonds that have helped the Center thrive throughout its history.

Top to bottom: With a cheer of “give care,” the staff of the Treatment & Recovery Center of Douglas County officially opened its doors on April 10, 2023
The Bert Nash Center was recognized with a Community Partner Keeper of the Dream Award at the Lawrence Public Schools MLK ONE DREAM Celebration in January 2024
Team members from Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center, Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health and Visiting Nurses Association celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Community Health Facility in August 2024. All three agencies have called the Community Health Facility home since the building opened in 1999.

The Bert Nash Center has been an innovative leader in the field of mental health care throughout its history. Initiatives such as the school-based mental health program WRAP have provided essential support for 28 years, offering Wellness, Resources, Access and Prevention in Douglas County schools. Being one of the first seven pilot sites in the nation to offer Mental Health First Aid classes in 2008, the Center has continued to be a leader. Its recognition as a CARF-accredited facility (Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities) and the first Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic in Kansas speaks volumes about its commitment to excellence.

All these achievements were made even more impressive during a global pandemic while still addressing the growing demand for mental health services. The opening of the Treatment and Recovery Center of Douglas County in 2023, a groundbreaking facility in the state, marked the culmination of a yearslong community effort to open a behavioral health crisis facility in Lawrence. The Treatment and Recovery Center team served 1,582 individuals in 2024.

None of these achievements would be possible without the dedicated team at the Bert Nash Center and the generous community that champions behavioral wellness for all. Over the past two years, the Bert Nash Center has significantly expanded its workforce, growing from 280 to more than 400 dedicated professionals and offering a wide range of 46 different programs and services. During this period, there has been a 23 percent increase in the number of clients served, which underscores the community’s escalating demand for behavioral health services. This is also exemplified by the current behavioral health crisis affecting our children and teens. Rising rates of suicide attempts and deaths highlight a dire need for accessible emergency psychiatric care for youth in Douglas County.

To directly address this crisis, the Bert Nash Center is developing a new crisis center specifically designed for youth and families. It’s crucial that children and youth experiencing behavioral health or substance-use crises have access to immediate care before it’s too late. The Judge Jean Shepherd Youth Recovery Center will be dedicated to saving young lives and healing families. It is slated to open in 2027.

The Bert Nash Center has had to grow significantly because the need for behavioral health care is so great. With the community’s continued support, the Bert Nash Center will work alongside individuals as they overcome their behavioral health challenges and return to their families, careers and fullest potential.

In 2014, Bob Nash, the son of Bert and Ruth Nash, visited the Center bearing his father’s name. At 83 years old, he reflected on memories from his youth when his father passed away. While visiting the Center more than 65 years after Nash’s death, Bob Nash expressed his thoughts about his father’s impact.

“I like to think about all of the lives that have been changed because of my father’s work,” Bob Nash said. “That’s what I think of when I see Bert Nash.”

It’s a legacy that the Center continues to carry on today: restoring lives, responding to needs and building a healthy community.

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