History of Prairie View

World War II provided a unique opportunity for conscientious objectors to serve their country in alternative service. Many were assigned to state mental hospitals across the country and were dismayed by the impersonal, sometimes cruel and brutal treatment inflicted upon persons with mental illness.

Believing the church had something important to contribute to mental healthcare, the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) organized Mennonite Mental Health Services, an agency of Mennonite groups in the United States, to plan three small hospitals. Prairie View, the third of the mental hospitals to be launched by MCC, opened on March 15, 1954 in Newton, Kansas. This hospital, funded primarily by Mennonite contributions and built with volunteer labor and supplies, provided the first Mennonite establishment to deal with treatment of mental illness in the Midwest. There were seven staff members and 12 voluntary service workers on hand for opening day, all with dreams and visions of making a difference in the lives of those suffering from mental illnesses.

Prairie View adopted a treatment philosophy unlike those being used in similar treatment facilities. Traditional treatment philosophy was based on the idea that persons with a psychiatric illness were unable to make decisions or to assume any degree of control for their behavior, and therefore had to be segregated and treated as inferior. However, Prairie View's philosophy was that individuals were responsible and should be held accountable for their behavior.

Prairie View saw enormous growth, beginning in 1963, with the initiation of a contract with Harvey County to provide services as a community mental health center. McPherson County and Marion County followed in 1965 and 1967, respectively. These contracts laid a foundation for the development of a comprehensive mental health center supported by federal, state, and county funds.

In 1968, Prairie View received national recognition with the Gold Award from the American Psychiatric Association (APA). It was the highest recognition given from the APA for excellence as a leader on the cutting edge of providing services to persons with mental illness.

Today Prairie View has six locations in Kansas and offers a complete range of behavioral and mental health services, including acute inpatient psychiatric hospitalization, individual and family therapy, services for adults and older adults, pastoral counseling, child and adolescent services, special purpose school, marriage counseling and alcohol and substance abuse treatment.

Prairie View is accredited by the Joint Commission of Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and licensed by the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services and the Kansas Department of Heath and Environment.