September 17, 2025 • 13 mins
Mike Rezkalla, CEO of Pawnee Mental Health, shares how the organization serves 185,000 people across 10 Kansas counties with integrated mental health services. September marks both National Suicide Prevention Month and Recovery Awareness Month, highlighting the critical work being done to address the 49,000 annual lives lost to suicide - one every 11 minutes.
• Pawnee offers comprehensive services under one roof including recovery services, outpatient therapy, crisis services, psychiatry, and care management
• Manhattan community shows exceptional commitment to mental health through county proclamations and support
• "Inspiring Hope Dinner and Auction" fundraiser set for October 2nd at K-State Alumni Center with tickets at $75 per person
• Funds will support new primary care services at the Claflin clinic, integrating physical and mental healthcare
• Integrated care model has shown 19% reduction in hospital admission rates
• People with mental illness often die decades too soon due to lack of physical healthcare access
• Pawnee serves everyone regardless of ability to pay or established client status
Visit pawneeorg to learn more about the Inspiring Hope Dinner and Auction and Pawnee's services.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Philanthropy Today is brought to you by the Greater
Manhattan Community Foundation.
In this episode we feature arecently broadcast segment of
the GMCF Community Hour, asheard on NewsRadio KMAN.
The GMCF Community Hourcontinues here on this Monday.
We do this every Monday morningat the 10 o'clock hour and
we're always thrilled to have alot of folks to come in and
(00:22):
joining us and tell us thestories of what their nonprofit
work is doing.
Our next guest is relativelynew to the Manhattan area.
He came from the East Coast Notclose, not right on the coast
right.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Yes, close enough.
Yes and no Close enough.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Mike Rescala is the chief executive officer for
Pawnee Mental Health, and wewere just doing some math 19
months into the gig, 19 months.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
How's it going?
It's going great, wonderfulcommunity, great people.
Services we provide are verymuch needed in the community and
I have not seen a communitythat is as committed to mental
health as this community.
Really now it is very upliftingand very heartwarming.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
That's got to make you feel bubbly inside, doesn't
it, to know that there is thatkind of sentiment here.
Did you expect that when youcame here?
I did not.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
I did not expect that level of dedication and
commitment to mental health, ofdedication and commitment to
mental health, especiallybecause this is a very diverse
community and people arecommitted, so this is great.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Yeah, yeah, well, manhattan's treating you well.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Manhattan is fantastic, okay.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Yeah, Manhattan is fantastic.
We love to hear those types ofthings You're enjoying every
second of my time here andyou're treating Manhattan well,
absolutely, and your family isall here now.
My family is here, okay, yeah,because last time I think that
they were going to be joiningyou.
Last time we had a chance tovisit.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
They joined me last year and they have embedded
themselves in the community anddoing great.
Do you have some purple in yourcloset?
Oh yeah, oh yeah, I wear purplealmost every Friday.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Do you now?
Yes, I do, okay, is that?
Speaker 2 (02:08):
mandatory at Pawnee?
No, it is not.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
But it's being a proud Manhattan resident.
Uh-huh, yeah, okay, but we talka lot about things you know in
the mental health environmentbecause you know it's something
that that you know my story ishas been documented here.
We've talked about mychallenges and I think that, uh,
(02:33):
one of the things you know likewhen Tyler was in here, you
know we're in the business oftelling stories and if, if the
story is told enough times, thenpeople understand.
You know, the significance ofwhat not necessarily what the
story is, but what the messageout of that story is and the
(02:55):
message that we are hearing andit's becoming easier to talk
about now, because it used to besomething you just kind of
swept under the rug.
But mental health, you know, wetalk about it being.
It is health, it is health care, and there's a lot of awareness
.
I think that has shifted and Ithink that that's a lot.
That says a lot about, you know, the response that you're
(03:16):
seeing with here in Manhattan,that people are very supportive
of the work that you're doing atPawnee.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
They are.
And let me tell you this, themonth of September is a very
special month in the mentalhealth profession and the reason
I'm saying that that wecelebrate two big happenings in
the month of September, onebeing the National Suicide
Prevention Month September is,and also being the Recovery
(03:59):
Awareness Month County, but byall the counties in our
10-county area, and thecommitment of Clay Cloud, jewell
, marshall, mitchell,pottawatomie, republic, riley
and Washington counties bysigning these proclamations
tells you how committed peopleare.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
And creating that awareness carries you a long way
.
And creating that awarenesscarries you a long way.
No-transcript.
(04:46):
We all know someone orsomeone's family who has been
directly affected by suicide andwe realize that this is
something that has to beaddressed, and we're seeing that
.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
Absolutely.
When you look at the suicidestatistics for, let's say, 2022,
there has been 49,000 liveslost to suicide.
That's a life lost to suicideevery 11 minutes.
When you think about mentalhealth in general, us to suicide
every 11 minutes.
When you think about mentalhealth in general, one out of
four in some other statistics,one out of five people is
(05:24):
struggling with mental healthand that is one in every
household, and we are here.
When you think about the scopeof services that Pawnee provides
, when you think about us beinga safety net provider we serve a
10-county region of about185,000 people with some unique
(05:52):
services that are integrated,like recovery services, like
mental health, outpatient, likecrisis services.
When you also think aboutmedical psychiatry and when you
look at the care management andcare coordination under our
community services, these arevery unique and you can't find
(06:13):
them under one roof, but Pawneeactually.
One parent I was having aconversation with someone last
week and that person said for mychild, I can't find a place
that would provide them this,this, this and that under one
roof.
Where do you think I should go?
I said Pawnee, because that'swhere all these services, of
(06:33):
these services, uh, uh exist.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
That's a great story to tell, yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
Let's talk a bit about, uh, some things that are
coming up here, because Pawneeis got several funding
mechanisms that are involved.
You, you do uh have somegovernment funding.
You have a lot of privatefunding.
There's grants that comethrough that help support the
mission at Pawnee.
But you have a special eventthat's coming up here on October
2nd and we want to talk alittle bit about this because
(07:02):
that's going to be the mainthrust here for the next few
minutes.
It's called Inspiring HopeDinner and Auction.
So tell us what this is allabout.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Sure, and thank you, Dave.
On October 2nd at 5.30 pm atK-State Alumni Center, Pawnee
will be celebrating theInspiring Hope and Help event.
Some folks might remember thisbeing called Driving the Dream.
We've changed the name a coupleof years ago, but this is an
inspirational and fun-filledevening.
(07:33):
It includes dinner, liveauction.
It is Pawnee's largest annualfundraiser.
The event raises thousands tobenefit the communities we serve
.
This is an intimate evening thatwill include dinner.
That will include theopportunity to learn about the
(07:55):
uplifting work we do in ourcommunity, raffle opportunities
and a special live auctionfeaturing unique and highly
sought-after items donated byPawnee supporters.
Some of these items themajority, if not all actually
are fancy and well sought after.
(08:15):
Our live auction is alsoincluded in the event.
We have an online auctionstarts sunday, september 21st to
friday, october 3rd.
The auction will feature avariety of items from both
inside and outside Pawneeservice area.
(08:35):
Seating is limited, so if folkswant to participate and we
encourage everyone who wouldlike to to come and join us
Tickets cost $75 per person and$600 per table and we are very,
(08:56):
very grateful for the support ofour sponsors.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
And who are some of those watches?
You want to give them a plugreal quick, or do you absolutely
?
Speaker 2 (09:01):
yeah, we are grateful for the support of uh, bhs, bhs
, construction um charleston,wilson stacy and lowell, cole,
uhohlmeyer C, clyde Jones,carpet One, howie Recycling, wtc
(09:22):
, blake and Tamara Bowers, spsCompanies, enterprise Mobility,
stormont, bale Health and ThermoComfort Air.
I hope I didn't forget.
I'm sure I forgot some folks,but as we get more sponsors we
will definitely make sure tofeature them and they will be
featured at the event as well.
(09:42):
But we're very grateful fortheir generosity.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
What do you use the proceeds for?
Inspiring hope and help?
Speaker 2 (09:49):
The money raised will benefit our newly established
primary care services, benefitour newly established primary
care services and it is underwayin our Claflin clinic.
And here's why this isimportant.
Why primary care services?
Speaker 1 (10:04):
are important.
Yeah, cause this is somethingthat's new for you.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Yeah, there is a big picture behind this, dave, and
so integrated primary care isimportant because it increases
the patient access to care andimproves physical and mental
health outcomes, and it alsoreduces the overall health care
costs through bettercoordination and reduced
emergency department visits andhospital stays.
There are some very interestingstatistics that for
(10:33):
organizations that haveimplemented integrated care
meaning primary care blendedwith behavioral health in the
same place, that has led to 19%reduction in hospital admission
rates.
So this is a very uniqueservice being provided.
(10:54):
Oftentimes, when you ask folksif they have access to primary
care services, some folkswouldn't know what primary care
is or might confuse it withsomething else.
But this is physical care, it'spreventative, something else,
(11:15):
but this is physical care, it'spreventative, it blends well
with behavioral health, meaningrecovery services, meaning
outpatient therapy.
This is a big milestone for usat Pawnee and our clients,
because people with mentalillness often die decades too
soon, die decades too soon, andnot because of their diagnosis
(11:39):
alone, but also because theycan't get the physical health
care they need.
And at Pawnee, we believe thatmental and physical health
should go hand in hand and, withthe help of our community, we
are committed to to providingthis, this care primary care
provides already, and this wasactually an interesting
(12:00):
statistic that I came across acouple of days ago.
Primary care provides already45% of visits to patients with
depression and or an anxiety, ofwhich about half are co-managed
with a non-physician behavioralhealth clinician.
(12:20):
So when you think aboutbringing both under one roof,
you can prevent furthercomplication.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
So it is very important further complication.
So it is very important.
Pawneeorg is the website whereyou can find out more about all
the work that is being done hereand you have connection on the
website where you can find outmore about getting registered,
getting signed up to attend yourLiving the Dream event there
(12:51):
are links to, or Inspiring Hope.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
Excuse me, it is both .
It's inspiring hope and helpand also driving the dream of
many to find a place where theycan receive care, regardless of
anything, whether they're anestablished client or not,
whether they are able to pay ornot.
We take everyone, regardless ofanything, and we value the
(13:17):
patients, the clients we serveand, like you said, there are
links on our website.
If people go to Pawneeorg, theywill find more information.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
Well, we're proud to have Pawnee in our community and
doing the work that you do.
Mike Rezcala, thank you forjoining us here today.
Thank you for having me Up nextwe're going to be.
We got a room full.
I've got a new studio.
Every chair is going to be fullwith folks from Be Able.
They have an event coming upnext week and we'll talk about
that when we return from thebreak here on the GMCF Community
(13:48):
Hour on NewsRadio KMAN.
Philanthropy Today is brought to you by the Greater
Manhattan Community Foundation.
In this episode we feature arecently broadcast segment of
the GMCF Community Hour, asheard on NewsRadio KMAN.
The GMCF Community Hourcontinues here on this Monday.
We do this every Monday morningat the 10 o'clock hour and
we're always thrilled to have alot of folks to come in and
(00:22):
joining us and tell us thestories of what their nonprofit
work is doing.
Our next guest is relativelynew to the Manhattan area.
He came from the East Coast Notclose, not right on the coast
right.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Yes, close enough.
Yes and no Close enough.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Mike Rescala is the chief executive officer for
Pawnee Mental Health, and wewere just doing some math 19
months into the gig, 19 months.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
How's it going?
It's going great, wonderfulcommunity, great people.
Services we provide are verymuch needed in the community and
I have not seen a communitythat is as committed to mental
health as this community.
Really now it is very upliftingand very heartwarming.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
That's got to make you feel bubbly inside, doesn't
it, to know that there is thatkind of sentiment here.
Did you expect that when youcame here?
I did not.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
I did not expect that level of dedication and
commitment to mental health, ofdedication and commitment to
mental health, especiallybecause this is a very diverse
community and people arecommitted, so this is great.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Yeah, yeah, well, manhattan's treating you well.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Manhattan is fantastic, okay.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Yeah, Manhattan is fantastic.
We love to hear those types ofthings You're enjoying every
second of my time here andyou're treating Manhattan well,
absolutely, and your family isall here now.
My family is here, okay, yeah,because last time I think that
they were going to be joiningyou.
Last time we had a chance tovisit.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
They joined me last year and they have embedded
themselves in the community anddoing great.
Do you have some purple in yourcloset?
Oh yeah, oh yeah, I wear purplealmost every Friday.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Do you now?
Yes, I do, okay, is that?
Speaker 2 (02:08):
mandatory at Pawnee?
No, it is not.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
But it's being a proud Manhattan resident.
Uh-huh, yeah, okay, but we talka lot about things you know in
the mental health environmentbecause you know it's something
that that you know my story ishas been documented here.
We've talked about mychallenges and I think that, uh,
(02:33):
one of the things you know likewhen Tyler was in here, you
know we're in the business oftelling stories and if, if the
story is told enough times, thenpeople understand.
You know, the significance ofwhat not necessarily what the
story is, but what the messageout of that story is and the
(02:55):
message that we are hearing andit's becoming easier to talk
about now, because it used to besomething you just kind of
swept under the rug.
But mental health, you know, wetalk about it being.
It is health, it is health care, and there's a lot of awareness
.
I think that has shifted and Ithink that that's a lot.
That says a lot about, you know, the response that you're
(03:16):
seeing with here in Manhattan,that people are very supportive
of the work that you're doing atPawnee.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
They are.
And let me tell you this, themonth of September is a very
special month in the mentalhealth profession and the reason
I'm saying that that wecelebrate two big happenings in
the month of September, onebeing the National Suicide
Prevention Month September is,and also being the Recovery
(03:59):
Awareness Month County, but byall the counties in our
10-county area, and thecommitment of Clay Cloud, jewell
, marshall, mitchell,pottawatomie, republic, riley
and Washington counties bysigning these proclamations
tells you how committed peopleare.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
And creating that awareness carries you a long way
.
And creating that awarenesscarries you a long way.
No-transcript.
(04:46):
We all know someone orsomeone's family who has been
directly affected by suicide andwe realize that this is
something that has to beaddressed, and we're seeing that
.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
Absolutely.
When you look at the suicidestatistics for, let's say, 2022,
there has been 49,000 liveslost to suicide.
That's a life lost to suicideevery 11 minutes.
When you think about mentalhealth in general, us to suicide
every 11 minutes.
When you think about mentalhealth in general, one out of
four in some other statistics,one out of five people is
(05:24):
struggling with mental healthand that is one in every
household, and we are here.
When you think about the scopeof services that Pawnee provides
, when you think about us beinga safety net provider we serve a
10-county region of about185,000 people with some unique
(05:52):
services that are integrated,like recovery services, like
mental health, outpatient, likecrisis services.
When you also think aboutmedical psychiatry and when you
look at the care management andcare coordination under our
community services, these arevery unique and you can't find
(06:13):
them under one roof, but Pawneeactually.
One parent I was having aconversation with someone last
week and that person said for mychild, I can't find a place
that would provide them this,this, this and that under one
roof.
Where do you think I should go?
I said Pawnee, because that'swhere all these services, of
(06:33):
these services, uh, uh exist.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
That's a great story to tell, yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
Let's talk a bit about, uh, some things that are
coming up here, because Pawneeis got several funding
mechanisms that are involved.
You, you do uh have somegovernment funding.
You have a lot of privatefunding.
There's grants that comethrough that help support the
mission at Pawnee.
But you have a special eventthat's coming up here on October
2nd and we want to talk alittle bit about this because
(07:02):
that's going to be the mainthrust here for the next few
minutes.
It's called Inspiring HopeDinner and Auction.
So tell us what this is allabout.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Sure, and thank you, Dave.
On October 2nd at 5.30 pm atK-State Alumni Center, Pawnee
will be celebrating theInspiring Hope and Help event.
Some folks might remember thisbeing called Driving the Dream.
We've changed the name a coupleof years ago, but this is an
inspirational and fun-filledevening.
(07:33):
It includes dinner, liveauction.
It is Pawnee's largest annualfundraiser.
The event raises thousands tobenefit the communities we serve
.
This is an intimate evening thatwill include dinner.
That will include theopportunity to learn about the
(07:55):
uplifting work we do in ourcommunity, raffle opportunities
and a special live auctionfeaturing unique and highly
sought-after items donated byPawnee supporters.
Some of these items themajority, if not all actually
are fancy and well sought after.
(08:15):
Our live auction is alsoincluded in the event.
We have an online auctionstarts sunday, september 21st to
friday, october 3rd.
The auction will feature avariety of items from both
inside and outside Pawneeservice area.
(08:35):
Seating is limited, so if folkswant to participate and we
encourage everyone who wouldlike to to come and join us
Tickets cost $75 per person and$600 per table and we are very,
(08:56):
very grateful for the support ofour sponsors.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
And who are some of those watches?
You want to give them a plugreal quick, or do you absolutely
?
Speaker 2 (09:01):
yeah, we are grateful for the support of uh, bhs, bhs
, construction um charleston,wilson stacy and lowell, cole,
uhohlmeyer C, clyde Jones,carpet One, howie Recycling, wtc
(09:22):
, blake and Tamara Bowers, spsCompanies, enterprise Mobility,
stormont, bale Health and ThermoComfort Air.
I hope I didn't forget.
I'm sure I forgot some folks,but as we get more sponsors we
will definitely make sure tofeature them and they will be
featured at the event as well.
(09:42):
But we're very grateful fortheir generosity.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
What do you use the proceeds for?
Inspiring hope and help?
Speaker 2 (09:49):
The money raised will benefit our newly established
primary care services, benefitour newly established primary
care services and it is underwayin our Claflin clinic.
And here's why this isimportant.
Why primary care services?
Speaker 1 (10:04):
are important.
Yeah, cause this is somethingthat's new for you.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Yeah, there is a big picture behind this, dave, and
so integrated primary care isimportant because it increases
the patient access to care andimproves physical and mental
health outcomes, and it alsoreduces the overall health care
costs through bettercoordination and reduced
emergency department visits andhospital stays.
There are some very interestingstatistics that for
(10:33):
organizations that haveimplemented integrated care
meaning primary care blendedwith behavioral health in the
same place, that has led to 19%reduction in hospital admission
rates.
So this is a very uniqueservice being provided.
(10:54):
Oftentimes, when you ask folksif they have access to primary
care services, some folkswouldn't know what primary care
is or might confuse it withsomething else.
But this is physical care, it'spreventative, something else,
(11:15):
but this is physical care, it'spreventative, it blends well
with behavioral health, meaningrecovery services, meaning
outpatient therapy.
This is a big milestone for usat Pawnee and our clients,
because people with mentalillness often die decades too
soon, die decades too soon, andnot because of their diagnosis
(11:39):
alone, but also because theycan't get the physical health
care they need.
And at Pawnee, we believe thatmental and physical health
should go hand in hand and, withthe help of our community, we
are committed to to providingthis, this care primary care
provides already, and this wasactually an interesting
(12:00):
statistic that I came across acouple of days ago.
Primary care provides already45% of visits to patients with
depression and or an anxiety, ofwhich about half are co-managed
with a non-physician behavioralhealth clinician.
(12:20):
So when you think aboutbringing both under one roof,
you can prevent furthercomplication.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
So it is very important further complication.
So it is very important.
Pawneeorg is the website whereyou can find out more about all
the work that is being done hereand you have connection on the
website where you can find outmore about getting registered,
getting signed up to attend yourLiving the Dream event there
(12:51):
are links to, or Inspiring Hope.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
Excuse me, it is both .
It's inspiring hope and helpand also driving the dream of
many to find a place where theycan receive care, regardless of
anything, whether they're anestablished client or not,
whether they are able to pay ornot.
We take everyone, regardless ofanything, and we value the
(13:17):
patients, the clients we serveand, like you said, there are
links on our website.
If people go to Pawneeorg, theywill find more information.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
Well, we're proud to have Pawnee in our community and
doing the work that you do.
Mike Rezcala, thank you forjoining us here today.
Thank you for having me Up nextwe're going to be.
We got a room full.
I've got a new studio.
Every chair is going to be fullwith folks from Be Able.
They have an event coming upnext week and we'll talk about
that when we return from thebreak here on the GMCF Community
(13:48):
Hour on NewsRadio KMAN.
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