Executive Director announced for Crisis Recovery Center

For the past 30 plus years, Richard (Rich) Failla has made the mental health field his life’s work. He will bring that wealth of experience to his new role as executive director of the Crisis Recovery Center, which is part of the Treatment and Recovery Campus of Douglas County.

Behavioral Health Partners, Inc., a nonprofit partnership between Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center and LMH Health, announced the hiring of Failla.

He will begin his new duties later this month.

“We understand that a mental health crisis can strike at any time and our first priority is your health and wellbeing,” said Russ Johnson, LMH Health President and CEO. “We are thrilled to have Richard join the team at the crisis center. His many years of experience will be invaluable and will help identify the right resources for treatment.”

Behavioral Health Partners provides the leadership, clinical oversight and operational management of the crisis recovery center. It is governed by a nine-member Board of Directors, who are appointed by LMH Health, Bert Nash and the Board of Douglas County Commissioners. Construction of the facility will be completed by February 2022. The center will be funded through a variety of resources including the quarter-cent sales tax that was approved by voters in November 2018 to improve behavioral health services and facilities in Douglas County.

“We’re very excited about Rich coming on board and we’re delighted to have someone with his experience and expertise joining our leadership team,” said Patrick Schmitz, Bert Nash Center CEO. “We can’t wait for him to get started. This is exciting news not only for the crisis recovery center and all of our community partners involved with the project, but mostly for the people whose lives will be helped because of the availability of these crisis services in our community.”

Failla, who most recently has been a clinical therapist at Osawatomie State Hospital working with involuntary court-committed chronic mentally ill patients, has been a CEO of multiple healthcare systems throughout his career.

“I am very excited about this opportunity,” Failla said. “I am so looking forward to working with people in the Lawrence community. The crisis center is like the last missing piece of the puzzle and will fit in very well with the work that is already being done. You have a fantastic team there. I am very impressed. Having all these organizations as strong and as involved in the community brings the best of everybody’s expertise and commitment to help people who are suffering from serious mental illness. I think it’s a model that should be used everywhere.” 

And Failla would know. He has extensive leadership experience working at behavioral health facilities throughout the country. 

“I’ve run psychiatric hospitals all over the United States,” he said. “My commitment to mental health is lifelong. My wife was a psychiatric nurse for 30 years. My oldest daughter is a licensed clinical social worker. My middle daughter is a nurse. The whole family has been involved in mental health for a long time.”

Failla is eager to begin his new duties. He will spend the months leading up to the opening of the crisis center developing, planning and implementing strategies for program sustainability, improvement, and growth, along with the leadership team and community behavioral health partners.

“I am confident the crisis center will make a big impact on keeping people right here in the community and keep them stable and safe and try to get them back into their lives as quickly as possible,” he said. “We will be able to offer people a tremendous amount of help right here at home and hopefully not having to leave Lawrence. Our goal will be to get people out of crisis, to keep them healthy and to keep them in the community."

About LMH Health

LMH Health, formerly Lawrence Memorial Hospital, was founded in 1921, and includes a 174-bed hospital located in Lawrence, Kansas, as well as a number of primary and specialty care clinics throughout Lawrence, Douglas County, Jefferson County and Leavenworth County. LMH Health is a community, not-for-profit hospital that serves the health care needs of the community regardless of an individual’s ability to pay.

LMH Health receives no tax support from the city of Lawrence or Douglas County. Dedicated to serving as a partner for lifelong health, LMH invests all excess revenues in services, equipment and facilities that further that mission.

About Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center

The Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center is the designated Community Mental Health Center (CMHC) of Douglas County, Kansas. The Bert Nash Center was founded in 1950 in honor of Dr. Bert Nash, an educational psychologist at the University of Kansas and respected community leader. Today, the Center is a licensed, comprehensive mental health facility committed to providing research-based services to improve the lives of Douglas County residents. It serves as a safety-net provider and essential health care service for children, families and adults regardless of their ability to pay.