On Thursday, May 8th, The Thompson Foundation hosted a “Celebration of Progress” at the new Thompson Center site. The event brought together Thompson Center Faculty and Staff, Thompson Center patient families, University of Missouri and MU Healthcare leadership, Thompson Foundation Board Members, Thompson Family Members, community leaders, donors and project stakeholders to mark the significant progress of the new center!
Guests received an exclusive first look at the nearly completed building through guided tours of the under-construction, state-of-the-art facility. The event featured renderings of the completed project and opportunities to speak with representatives from Whiting-Turner Contracting Company and designers from SFS Architecture Inc. about the project’s inclusive and innovative design.
In her remarks, Dr. Connie Brooks, Executive Director of the Thompson Center for Autism & Neurodevelopment, said “In the last 20 years, we’ve progressed from seeing 73 patients the first year to seeing up to 95 patients per day. We started with 3 clinicians and now have over 120 employees, faculty, and students. And we’re progressing from our humble beginnings of 2 rooms in the back of the sleep study building to this beautiful, 74,000 sq foot center!”
Dr. Brooks continued, “As you tour today and remember this event, I hope you’ll think about the feelings you’ve had when you’ve made progress with something new and challenging. It’s the same feeling our patients and their families feel when they make progress, even when it’s small–feeling proud, empowered, confident, and joyful. And I thank you again for coming along on this journey. We’re so proud of how far we’ve come and are excited to tackle our next challenge.”
See media coverage of the event from KRCG and The Columbia Missourian.
Learn more about our campaign to expand the Thompson Center’s extraordinary services here.
Pictures of the event by Claire Winningham.