2025 HCD Conference + Expo Tour Preview: Children’s Mercy + Camber Mental Health, Olathe, Kansas

The 72-bed trauma-informed designed project is one of the community tours available to HCD Conference attendees.

Published: October 3, 2025Posted by Tracey Walker

Bob Greenspan Photography

View Gallery

Children’s Mercy + Camber Mental Health, Olathe, Kansas

The 72-bed mental health hospital was developed to meet the urgent need for trauma-informed care in the region. Recognizing the shortage of accessible inpatient services for adults and youth, Children’s Mercy + Camber Mental Health aimed to create a facility that enhances care delivery while promoting a therapeutic and respectful patient environment.

This state-of-the-art hospital provides 24 private adult rooms and 48 private youth rooms strategically housed in separate building environments under one roof to ensure safety, privacy, and tailored care. The design emphasizes functionality while prioritizing patient dignity and well-being.

Natural light, calming finishes, and multipurpose therapy spaces foster a restorative atmosphere, while lessons learned from other facilities and dedicated staff support areas ensure the environment promotes healing for both patients and caregivers.

Children’s Mercy +Camber Mental Health trauma-informed design principles

Key features include thoughtfully arranged social and recreational spaces to support interaction, private contemplative and de-escalation areas for moments of calm, and landscaped outdoor courtyards that connect patients to nature, promoting healing and recovery.

Adopting a trauma-informed design approach, which emphasizes safety, choice, calming sensory environments, and connection to nature, the project directly addresses barriers to care often associated with institutional settings. Each space is carefully designed to create a soothing and supportive atmosphere, enhancing patient outcomes while meeting the operational needs of staff. Natural light and outdoor courtyards reinforce safety and connection to nature, flexible therapy spaces support choice, and calming finishes create a restorative environment that benefits both patients and staff.

This facility represents a significant investment in improving mental health infrastructure and community well-being. The hospital stands as a model for balancing clinical requirements with human-centered design, integrating evidence-based design such as access to daylight, supportive therapy environments, and staff wellness strategies with an empathetic understanding of patient needs.

HCD Conference community tour

Children’s Mercy + Camber Mental Health is one of the community tours offered to attendees for the 2025 HCD Conference + Expo taking place Oct. 25-28, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. For more information and to register, visit hcdexpo.com.