Discover Quality Medical Facilities in Lee’s Summit
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Lee’s Summit has a long list of attributes, not the least of which is its burgeoning health-care industry. With three hospitals, dozens of specialty physicians, and a new medical corridor with 500,000 square feet of doctors’ office space in Chapel Ridge Business Park, you’d be hard-pressed to find a medical challenge local health professionals haven’t treated before.
The small city boasts three full-service hospitals – St. Luke’s East-Lee’s Summit, Truman Medical Center Lakewood and Lee’s Summit Medical Center, which is housed in a new $90 million hospital campus.
“Our heart and stroke care are a particular strength for us,” says Robin Dawson, director of business development for LSMC. “We recently received a bronze award for stroke and silver for cardiac designation from the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association for meeting their stringent guidelines.”
In 2009, LSMC plans to add a new pain clinic, expand its orthopedics services and bring a new vascular surgeon on site.
The Lee’s Summit Chamber of Commerce also helps citizens keep track of the community’s plethora of health-care resources by publishing an annual health-care directory, filled with the names and numbers of local physicians, clinics and other medical services.
But traditional medicine isn’t the only health-related sector Lee’s Summit is strong in. The community also reaches out to mental health and substance abuse patients through ReDiscover, a nonprofit organization that is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2009.
“ReDiscover’s mission is to deliver mental health and substance abuse services to help individuals and families achieve healthier and more productive lives,” says Alan Flory, president of ReDiscover. “It started as the dream of a small group of volunteers who met in the basement of a local church. Now we serve more than 500 individuals daily.”
Annually serving more than 33,000 local children, adults and families, ReDiscover partners with area schools, police, hospitals and other organizations to offer help before, during and after crises connected to depression, bipolar disorder, drug addiction, alcoholism or suicide. Treatment focuses on wellness and recovery.
One ReDiscover patient, Jason Ward, intimately knows the obstacles and challenges of mental illness. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, but with ReDiscover’s help, he was able to earn a college degree, find a job and live independently.
“ReDiscover provided Jason with medication, education about his disease, therapy and the opportunity to contribute to the community by becoming a volunteer,” Flory says. “With the help of ongoing treatment, Jason has dreams for his future and is steadily carving out the life he wants to live. He is a recipient of the Mayor’s Reflections of Character award for his courage.”
Even seniors have plenty of health-care options in Lee’s Summit. John Knox Village, for example, is a continuing-care retirement community that provides residential care and assisted living housing, skilled-nursing care, memory care for those with Alzheimer’s or dementia, home health, private duty care and end-of-life hospice services. The retirement community is home to nearly 1,800 residents and employs 1,000 associates, and it prides itself in its family atmosphere where associates commonly stop what they’re doing to engage in a friendly chat with a resident.
“Enriching lives, building community – that’s what it’s all about at John Knox Village,” says Marybeth Roberts, director of sales, marketing and communications. “Our mission is to help older adults live fuller, richer, healthier lives. We are there for each other during good times and challenging times.”
Story by Jessica Mozo
Photo by Todd Bennett
