Division Director - Developmental & Behavioral Health

The Department of Pediatrics at Children’s Mercy Kansas City is seeking a creative and scholarly leader to serve as Division Director of Developmental & Behavioral Health. The Division has provided outstanding interdisciplinary care to patients with neurodevelopmental and behavioral health conditions for 40 years. Care is provided in multiple ambulatory clinics, through a robust telehealth service, and by our inpatient consultation team as well as by behavioral health specialists embedded in primary care clinics and thirty pediatric medical and surgical specialty programs across our health care system. The division receives over 2000 referrals each month and conducts more than 20,000 annual visits in its two flagship ambulatory clinics and multiple satellite clinics. We also provide services in our Eating Disorder Center, a specialty clinic for Complex ADHD, and our division co-leads the Tourette Syndrome Center of Excellence.

 

Expansion of services is underway and will include a 24-bed partial hospital program, an integrated inpatient care unit, a crisis center, and an intensive outpatient program for eating disorders. As part of our institution’s ambitious mental health strategic plan, we are significantly expanding ambulatory services and recently opened a Depression and Anxiety Clinic and a Mental Health Screening Clinic. Also underway is expansion of existing services for autism, ADHD, neurodevelopmental differences, behavioral health care for patients with comorbid medical conditions, and more.   

 

Our team is comprised of 55 licensed psychologists, 8 child and adolescent psychiatrists, 9 developmental pediatricians, 3 board certified behavior analysts, 3 psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners, and 4 psychometricians.

 

Faculty in the Division engage in innovative clinical and translational research to optimize the well-being of patients with behavioral and mental health concerns, developmental disabilities, and chronic health conditions. Our interdisciplinary group of investigators collaborate with other research groups throughout Children’s Mercy, across the region and nationwide to understand, prevent and treat pediatric health concerns through the lens of developmental and behavioral science. Areas of research focus include:

 

• health equity,
• mental health service delivery,
• precision medicine,
• psychosocial treatment and outcomes for youth with acute and chronic pediatric health conditions,
• suicide prevention,
• language development,
• etiology of neurodevelopmental disorders

The Division is the primary site for pediatric resident rotations in child development and behavioral health, an American Psychological Association accredited clinical psychology internship program, a developmental pediatrics fellowship and multiple pediatric psychology postdoctoral clinical fellowships. We also train child and adolescent psychiatry fellows and psychology practicum students from programs throughout the Great Plains.

 

The foremost qualities necessary for this position are vision for the field of pediatric developmental and behavioral health and a strong record of academic achievement. Other desired characteristics include a demonstrated commitment to developing young clinicians into future leaders in pediatrics, knowledge of academic infrastructure and finances, successful collaborations with hospital and medical partners and dedication to a team culture of accountability and professionalism.  

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About Children's Mercy Kansas City

Children’s Mercy Kansas City is an independent, non-profit, 390-bed pediatric health system, providing over half a million patient encounters each year for children from across the country. Children’s Mercy is ranked by U.S. News & World Report in nine specialties. We have received Magnet® recognition five times for excellence in nursing services. In affiliation with the University of Missouri-Kansas City and the University of Kansas, our faculty of nearly 800 pediatric specialists and researchers are actively involved in clinical care, pediatric research and educating the next generation of pediatricians and pediatric subspecialists.

The Children’s Mercy Research Institute (CMRI) integrates research and clinical care with nationally recognized expertise in genomic medicine, precision therapeutics, population health and health care innovation. In 2021, the CMRI moved into a nine story, 375,000 square foot space emphasizing a translational approach to research in which clinicians and researchers work together to accelerate the pace of discovery that enhances care.