The Friends of the MS Achievement Center (formerly Mid America MS Achievement Center) a 501(c)3, based in Kansas City,KS supports and advocates for people with progressed MS.  We are governed by a board of directors and partner with others in the community to improve the lives of people with progressed MS. View our profile with Greater Kansas City Community Foundation here.

 

A Little History

 

The Mid America MS Achievement Center was established in 1995 with the mission of opening a center to provide therapeutic services for individuals with a progressive form of MS. The Center, located in the heart of Kansas City, KS is one of only a handful of similar programs in the entire United States. 

 

A relationship was developed between the MS Achievement Center and The Rehabilitation Institute to form a professional team comprised of a neurologist, a psychologist, and physical, occupational, and recreational therapists. This team focused on providing specialized programming for individuals to retain their functional ability and provide emotional support. The Center opened its doors on August 14, 1997 to six participants who received services once a week. On February 15, 1999, six new participants were added to the program, attending on a different day of the week. By December 2013 the Center had expanded to 5 days each week with 35 members participating.

 

A New Era of Growth

In 2013 the Mid America MS Achievement Center received a grant from the Conrad N Hilton Foundation to greatly expand our program. This grant came about through a collaboration between Mid America MS Achievement Center, Rehabilitation Institute of Kansas City, National MS Society Mid America Chapter and the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC). Through this grant KUMC provided a brand new space designed specifically for the MS Achievement Center as well as expanded clinic space for patient care and research. 

 

In April of 2016, the MS Achievement Center moved to their permanent home in the Landon Center on the KUMC campus. With this move KUMC took over operation of the program and the Mid America MS Achievement center transition from day-to-day operation to advocacy and fundraising. In October 2016, the name was changed to better reflect our mission: Friends of the MS Achievement Center. Our focus will be on fundraising to support the MSAC at KU and advocating for people with MS.  Since the move the program has expanded to serve over 70 individuals weekly and continues to explore new ways to serve individuals with progressed MS.