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Janette Platter is the community chaplain at Saint Luke’s Bishop Spencer Place, a vibrant senior living community just steps from the Country Club Plaza. But in early 2025, she was just another mom seeking the very best care for her child. Fortunately, she knew it wasn’t too far away.

Kirsti Millar, a 35-year-old of Kansas City, was 23 weeks pregnant with her second child in early 2023 when her water suddenly broke. What should have been a season of joy and anticipation became a medical emergency.

After 5-year-old Hildie Platter was diagnosed with selective mutism a year and a half ago, her mother, Janette Platter, turned to The Children's SPOT (Speech, Physical, and Occupational Therapy) for rehabilitative speech services through play therapy.

David Hartzler was the epitome of health. A former collegiate swimmer, he had continued the sport into adulthood. Three times a week, the Lawrence, Kan., resident swam 3,000 meters with the Lawrence Masters Swim Club.