With a new name, locations in Kansas City and Wichita, and a third new inpatient hospital and residential treatment facility coming soon in western Kansas, Camber Children’s Mental Health (formerly KVC Hospitals) is reintroducing itself as the region’s premier source and leading provider of children’s mental health care.

“We all need connection – that’s been our guiding philosophy for three decades as KVC Hospitals, and it will continue to guide us forward as Camber Children’s Mental Health,” said Bobby Eklofe, President. “In fact, we chose Camber because it means bridge or arch, representing our commitment to making meaningful connections with every child, teen, family, and community we serve.”

As demand for children’s mental health treatment increases, Camber continues to grow and evolve to address the mental health and emotional wellbeing needs of the region’s children and teens. Camber’s expansive network of inpatient hospitals and residential treatment centers provide lifesaving intervention and collaboration for youth ages 6 to 18 who are struggling with their mental health.

With youth suicide rates and mental health crises on the rise, Camber’s leadership says it is more important than ever to band together in ways that address the mental health needs of children and teens.

In addition to expanding education and training opportunities for professionals and partner agencies serving children, Camber will soon add another children’s mental health hospital to its network, with a new facility opening soon in Hays, Kan. The new Hays location, which will be on the HaysMed campus adjacent to the HaysMed Business Center, is set to open in January 2023. Camber will continue providing residential treatment services in Hays at this facility. Camber previously provided inpatient children’s psychiatric treatment in Hays for a decade (2009-19) until federal regulations required some state policy and funding changes to continue the service.

Camber Hays, Coming 2023

“We are grateful to expand our footprint in western Kansas, enabling us to reach more children and families in need of our services,” said Eklofe. “Through expert treatment delivered in the most compassionate, collaborative, and connected way possible, we are leading the way to better mental health – one child at a time.”

Why We Chose Camber

In order to best serve our communities, we need a distinct brand that helps identify the unique care we provide and truly encompasses the range of services we provide.

We are deeply committed to developing meaningful connections with every child in order to positively impact their quality of life and ensure mental health care is available and accessible. When we evaluated options for a new name, we wanted a word that reflected this promise.

Lobby of Camber Hays, Coming 2023

Camber is an English word that means arch or bridge. A great description of what we do—building a bridge to better days for children and families. We are providing life-changing mental health services and building connections with each child to help them achieve wellness.

You’ll also notice we chose purple as a distinct brand color for Camber. Purple represents harmony and balance and is associated with new beginnings. It portrays hope, wellness and opportunity.

About Camber Children’s Mental Health (formerly KVC Hospitals)

Camber Children’s Mental Health (formerly KVC Hospitals) is a network of nonprofit inpatient hospitals and residential treatment centers serving youth who are struggling with depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, the impacts of trauma, and other mental health needs. The goal of treatment is to provide each child with individualized treatment plans to help them return home as soon and as safely as possible, equipped with the resilience, support, and resources they need to continue treatment in their community.

For over 30 years, Camber has provided a healing space for more than 37,000 youth admissions, using a patient-centered approach that works to help heal the whole family unit. Additionally, Camber is proud to be an internationally renowned educational resource for community mental health providers, first responders, and a wide range of other partners who work with youth in need of intervention and support.

The KVC Health Systems Network

Camber is proud to remain a private, nonprofit organization that is part of the KVC Health Systems network. KVC Health Systems is the parent company of a family of nonprofit organizations working to make a difference in the lives of children, adults and families.

KVC Health Systems Nationwide Service Areas

KVC has 1,600 team members working across five states in the U.S. and our regional sister organizations KVC Kansas and KVC Missouri are not affected by this name change. They continue to provide family strengthening services, innovative child welfare delivery, foster care, outpatient mental health services, and in the case of KVC Niles, youth residential treatment.

Over the past 50 years, KVC’s network of care has positively impacted the lives of over 300,000 people.