A treatment center for children who are abused, traumatized or burdened by poor behavioral health was recently dedicated and renamed in honor of the longtime CEO of Family and Children’s Services (F&CS).
The Lapidus Center, which houses several programs dedicated to the well-being of children and their families, was dedicated in honor of Gail Lapidus, who has served as CEO since 1986 and has been on the F&CS staff since 1974.
The building, which was completed in 2001, formerly housed the F&CS central administration offices, which recently moved to new offices at the Legacy Plaza.
“On behalf of our Board of Directors, we are so pleased to rename this facility in honor of our long-tenured CEO Gail Lapidus, a leading pioneer and expert in the well-being and mental health of our families and children,” said Jill Thomas, Board President.
“Quite literally, no one in the state of Oklahoma has done more to promote the well-being of families and children, to bring leading-edge treatment and best practice therapy to Oklahoma, and to build the most powerful bulwark against poverty, child suffering and family distress this state has ever seen,” Thomas added.
Programs at the Lapidus Center, 650 S. Peoria Ave., provide early intervention, therapy and treatment services at one convenient location for children and their parents.
“This facility is specially designed for children, providing an inviting and comfortable space to promote healing,” she said.
The facility contains F&CS’ Child Abuse and Trauma Services, which serves nearly 1,700 children and families each year; Child Psychiatry, serving nearly 700 annually; and Children’s Mental Health Care and family therapy, which help several thousand children each year, in this facility and in public schools.
Children’s programs receive significant support from the George Kaiser Family Foundation and the Tulsa Area United Way, among others, and the Morningside Healthcare Foundation provided funding for remodeling the facility.
During the dedication ceremony, the main conference room in the facility was renamed the Tulsa Area United Way Conference Room in honor of that organization’s long-standing support of 77 years.
Also at the ceremony, Rabbi Marc Fitzermann of Congregation B’nai Emunah provided a special blessing for the building and Rebecca Ungermann presented a vocal performance dedicated to children and in honor of the life’s work of Lapidus and her team.
“Although she is a community problem solver, collaborator, a visionary leader, innovator, researcher and program developer, and some might say, a data nerd, most of all, she is a champion of children,” Thomas said. “For Gail, this is not a job. It is a purpose.”
For more information on children’s services available at the Lapidus Center, visit www.fcsok.org. To make an appointment, call 918-587-9471, or the COPES Crisis Hotline at 918-744-4800.
