About Turning Point

Turning Point teaches

• Individuals – A serious illness changes everything – for the person who’s sick as well as the caregiver. We teach tangible ways to address depression, manage stress, lower anxiety and adjust to the ups and downs inherent with serious, chronic illness. We encourage people to be active in the healing process.
• Children and teens – We offer special programs just for children and teens whose parent or sibling is ill. With age-appropriate activities, we help kids understand and deal with what’s happening – and how it affects their entire family.
• Family – We think it’s vital the whole family learn about disease and treatment. We show families how to put together a trusted healthcare team and support network. We help families better communicate, building their relationships with each other.

Turning Point connects

• Medical professionals – We have working relationships with nearly every healthcare provider, hospital and agency in Kansas City. While we are a program of The University of Kansas Health System, Turning Point is open and free of charge to participants no matter where they are treated.
• Employers – We offer workshops and seminars to organizations to train employees to become more resilient at work. We also help increase the likelihood that an employee with an illness will continue to be a valuable asset.

Officially established as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization on March 21, 2001, Turning Point began more than a decade earlier with the work of Moira Mulhern, PhD. Moira recognized that families facing a diagnosis of a serious or chronic physical illness were challenged with long searches for complementary therapies, support networks and assistance in working with a health care team. She had a vision to create a gathering place which would serve as a community resource for hope and healing. Partnered with the creativity of Liz Paugoulatos, as well as a dynamic founding board of directors and the expertise of a respected medical advisory board, Turning Point became a reality.

Every year, thousands of people in Kansas City are diagnosed with serious or chronic physical illnesses. Thousands more have been living with illness for years. Such illnesses impact the individual on psychological, emotional, economic and social levels. Just as important is the impact on the individual's family.

Turning Point is the only organization in the Kansas City area that provides innovative education and comprehensive support services to enhance the lives of adults and families living with any serious or chronic physical illness. Thanks to the generosity of the community, Turning Point's meaningful programs are free of charge.

Our future

We will continue to deliver programs and services throughout the region and develop innovative solutions, including workshops focused on teaching resilience skills to nurses and healthcare providers throughout the state of Kansas.

We will also continue to seek new ways to reach people by developing more digital and mobile resources for those homebound or far from us.

Most of all, we will continue to help people live their life to its fullest.

Resilience is the ability to bend without breaking. We help you develop:

• Ability to self-calm
• Ability to self-replenish
• Physical self-care
• Hope
• Optimism
• Sense of coherence
• Hardiness
• Non-judgmental/self-supporting thought patterns
• Emotional expressiveness
• Social support