FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (June 13, 2025)
Contact: Rance Burger, director of media relations for Brightli
rance.burger@burrellcenter.com; call/text (573) 286-9393
KIRKSVILLE — Preferred Family Healthcare celebrated the opening of a 12,350-square foot addition to its clinic at 900 E LaHarpe St. In Kirksville with a ceremonial ribbon cutting Friday, June 13.
The $6.8 million project was built through a 50/50 cost share project agreement between Preferred Family Healthcare (PFH) parent company Brightli and the Missouri Department of Mental Health. Preferred Family Healthcare employs about 150 full-time team members at the LaHarpe clinic in Kirksville.
Preferred Family Healthcare has grown steadily since it was founded in 1979. Preferred Family Healthcare expanded to nearly 100 locations and is powered by close to 1,200 team members. In Kirksville, 264 team members work for PFH, and 150 team members work full-time on the LaHarpe campus.
“Through all of this advancement, one thing has not changed, and that’s our unwavering commitment to mental health and to the Kirksville community,” Brightli Chief Human Resources Officer Stacey Hudson said. “No matter the tools we use, no matter the trends we adapt to, the heart of what we do has remained the same.”
PFH President Michael Schwend says the clinic in Kirksville will meet a rising need for mental health services as the stigma surrounding behavioral health care softens.
“We know that our country is facing a mental health crisis — one that has affected every community in some way,” Schwend said. “The work being done here and the facilities supporting it are making a real impact. This work doesn’t just change lives, it saves them.”
According to the Missouri Foundation for Health, Missouri ranks 12th in the need for mental health services but 31st in access to such services among the 50 states. Expanded access to behavioral health care means more people served and carries the potential to save Missouri billions of dollars per year in hospital, law enforcement and other community resource costs.