A Message from Dr. Kirsten Watkins, Interim CEO

As 2025 closes, I’ve been reflecting on how far we’ve come. Six months ago, I stepped into this role during one of the most challenging financial periods in our agency’s history. Our rapid growth and the increasing need for mental health services stretched our internal systems, while growing financial pressures have added additional strain to the broader healthcare environment. 

We addressed these challenges head-on by identifying areas of improvement for our financial systems, refining those systems for greater effectiveness, and making strategic – at times difficult – decisions to ensure our long-term stability.

Through it all, our community partners, supporters, clients, and 320+ team members have stood with us, reinforcing the importance of this work and the need for a strong Bert Nash Center. 

While these challenges have been significant, I am proud to say that our commitment to our mission has never wavered. Every day our teams have continued to provide exceptional care to our community.

Through 2025 we have served an average of nearly 2,500 individuals every month; including 160 new individuals per month seeking care. 

We have worked hard to reduce wait times for accessing services, have been able to offer same day intakes for high-risk individuals, and are currently averaging just 3 business days from the time a client registers for care to their intake with a licensed clinician. Access times to services like adult outpatient therapy services have decreased to 4.5 days, compared to an average of 9 days just last year. Other programs like youth therapy services have no waitlist at all.

Our crisis services division continues to offer immediate care through the Treatment and Recovery Center (TRC) and Mobile Response Team (MRT). This year alone, MRT has responded to 976 referrals to support community members in crisis. The TRC team sees an average of 225 individuals accessing crisis care per month and 165 admissions to stabilization crisis care monthly. Evaluations for individuals seeking care at the TRC are conducted in under 20 minutes from the time of their arrival, on average.  

And I could go on about the psychiatry care we provide, our evidence-based substance use treatment, our case management work, and so much more.

This work is extraordinary and it is needed. 

We’re in the business of change. Our own changes and growth mirror the changes and growth that we see with our clients every day.  It is inspiring to witness the incredible healing that clients and their families achieve when they have access to care and when they have a network of support to help them navigate those changes. We know that meaningful change, including on an agency level, also requires that same network of support.  We can’t do this work alone. It takes all of us to keep moving forward. 

Our theme this year, Through Care We Rise, reflects what we know to be true: we rise by caring for ourselves, caring for one another, and caring for this organization that has been a lifeline in Douglas County for 75 years. 

As we close out the year, I invite you to continue being part of this work. Your support strengthens our mission, protects access to care, and ensures that anyone who needs help—regardless of age, insurance status, or circumstances—has a place to rise and recover. 

Thank you for your trust, encouragement, and generosity.

With your partnership, we will continue meeting challenges with resilience and providing care with compassion.  

Kirsten Watkins, Psy.D., LP

Interim CEO

P.S. If you haven’t yet made a gift to the Bert Nash Center this year, I invite you to help expand access to community mental healthcare with a year-end contribution. You can do so by visiting our website www.bertnash.org/support, mailing a donation to 200 Maine Street, Suite A, Lawrence, KS 66044, or calling 785-830-1765 to donate by phone or explore alternate methods of giving. We appreciate your kind support tremendously!