To learn more about your new partners in Alzheimer’s care, click the photo, name or title of any member of our leadership team below. (Afterward, return to this page by clicking the floating “X” on the bio.)
KS Adult Care Home Operator & Certified Dementia Practitioner
Neil Barnett grew up in Wichita, Kansas. He has called Kansas City home since 1983, when he moved to the metro after graduating with a degree in finance and accounting from the University of Kansas.
For 21 years, Neil worked in the local offices of Wells Fargo, KPMG Peat Marwick and, finally, at Sprint Corporation, building a successful career in finance and international business development. He also found time to earn his MBA from Rockhurst University.
In 2004, Neil ran across an opportunity to apply his expertise to improving memory care available in Kansas City. On August 1 of the following year, he opened one of the first Alzheimer’s care homes in the metro, near his Prairie Village residence.
Today, Care Haven Homes operates six houses in Johnson County. Neil and his wife Lisa remain deeply committed owners of this family enterprise.
Neil is a member of Downtown Kansas City Rotary Club 13. He also is a mentee alum of the Helzberg Entrepreneurial Mentoring Program.
Lisa Barnett was born and raised in Kansas City. After graduating from Shawnee Mission East, she headed to Iowa State University to major in biology. Lisa discovered a passion for teaching there, leading her back to her hometown to earn a teaching degree from the University of Missouri - Kansas City.
For nearly 20 years, Lisa worked as a biology teacher in the upper school at The Pembroke Hill School, Kansas City, Missouri. She served as upper school science chair during the last five years of her teaching career. Lisa retired from Pembroke Hill in May 2022, joining Care Haven full-time in July, just over a month later.
Lisa was one of the company's original family owners, keeping up with significant developments and serving as a valuable sounding board. Since joining the Care Haven operating team full-time, Lisa is chiefly engaged in strategic planning, financial reporting and property management. She jumps in to handle whatever issues arise, from managing payroll to coordinating grounds care and addressing wi-fi outages.
In other words, Lisa does whatever is necessary to ensure Care Haven provides the best Alzheimer's care in Kansas City.
KS Adult Care Home Operator
Julie Rathjen is a lifelong resident of the Kansas City area with deep roots in the healthcare field. Her experience ranges from working in mother/ baby hospital units to recruiting nursing students in higher education settings. Ultimately, she found herself drawn to senior living.
Julie's commitment to helping older adults is rooted in the heart-wrenching difficulties a family friend faced when she could no longer live independently. The challenge of finding quality assisted living left Julie frustrated and determined to provide local seniors and their families with better alternatives.
Julie comes to Care Haven from a large national senior living company. She held several local leadership positions there, including Sales and Marketing Director, Residents' Services Director and Associate Executive Director. Most recently, Julie served as Executive Director of a stand-alone memory care community.
Julie came to Care Haven eager to take on the wide-ranging responsibilities and challenges of our smaller residential memory care setting. In her role as Executive Director, she
* Oversees all business operations and
* Directs our marketing and sales initiatives.
Registered Nurse, KS
Andrea Schneider began her career nearly 30 years ago as a CNA at a senior care facility. She later joined a Home Plus specializing in dementia care, starting as a nurse aide and becoming an LPN five years later. This experience gave her a deep understanding of the challenges faced by Alzheimer's caregivers—and the advantages of small-scale memory care environments.
Andrea graduated from Neosho County Community College's RN program in 2004. She then spent nine years in Labor and Delivery at Lawrence Memorial and St. Luke's South before moving to Ascend Hospice. During her 14 years there, she advanced from case manager to Regional Manager.
In 2021, Andrea joined Care Haven as a part-time on-call nurse and was promoted to Director of Nursing in 2022. Given her background, her exceptionally high clinical care standards came as no surprise. However, we were especially impressed by her talent for hiring, training, mentoring and retaining team members—crucial skills in today's healthcare environment.
Most importantly, Andrea excelled at interdisciplinary teamwork within hospice settings. She is highly skilled at supporting individuals as they adapt to changing physical, emotional and spiritual needs. She now brings this expertise to our residents, families and staff.
Head of Human Resources & Business Office Manager
KS Adult Home Care Operator
KS Adult Home Care Operator
Olivia Schufeldt joined Care Haven’s senior management team in March 2025. She oversees human resources, leads hiring and training, and manages key financial responsibilities.
Olivia has strong operational skills and brings valuable experience from her previous roles as Associate Executive Director, Interim Executive Director and Business Office Manager at a nationwide senior living organization.
More importantly, she arrives each day committed to providing Care Haven families with better dementia care.
Originally from Tulsa, Olivia earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental science from Haskell Indian Nations University—yet not before she returned home to pursue her own caregiving journey. She joined her mother and sisters to care for her Grandma Sue, even training as a Certified Nurse Aide to better attend to the woman who raised her.
After her grandmother's passing in 2020, Olivia wanted to support other older adults and their caregivers. She considered nursing but ultimately chose to pursue a career in senior living operations. We are thankful she did. Working with Care Haven families and team member, she demonstrates the understanding and empathy of a fellow caregiver.
Certified Nurse Aide, KS
Few people at Care Haven have worn as many hats as Shelby Brown. She joined our team as a caregiver in 2015 and, two years later, took on the responsibility of training new employees. In 2022, when we created a full-time management position to oversee caregiver onboarding and retention, Shelby was the clear choice for the role.
Since joining management, Shelby has played a vital role in property maintenance and oversight. Now, as Director of Facilities Management, she manages our facilities, oversees vendor relationships and handles repairs, licensing and improvements.
Shelby holds an undergraduate degree from Kansas State University and a graduate degree from the University of South Carolina. She spent ten years in sports medicine as a certified athletic trainer for college athletes. Like many at Care Haven, her personal experience led her to memory care: Shelby trained as a Certified Nurse Aide when her mother was diagnosed with dementia. After her mother's passing, she continued her career in caregiving.
Shelby approaches facilities management from both a family and a professional caregiver's perspective. For over ten years, she has played a vital role in ensuring residents have the support they need to live safely, comfortably and with dignity. She is dedicated to upholding that commitment through every design and maintenance decision she makes.
Why We’re Here
Neil Barnett started Care Haven Homes because, following his family’s battle with dementia, he understood the urgent need for better memory care. Despite a thorough search, his parents never found a better option for his grandmother’s care than an Alzheimer’s nursing home.
Decades later, Neil introduced a superior Alzheimer’s care model to Johnson County: the memory care assisted living home. While others have followed his example, Care Haven remains the area’s leading residential dementia care provider. Indeed, we’re known for best practices and exceptional staffing, along with unparalleled attention to the needs of our residents and their families. In every sense, we provide premier memory care.
Of course, Neil didn’t build Care Haven alone. For one thing, his mother first introduced the idea to him. Moreover, Neil’s wife and co-owner, Lisa, offers wise counsel. And, finally, our talented Executive Director and Director of Nursing oversee the day-to-day operations of a highly skilled nursing and operations team.
We’re All Your Partners in Alzheimer’s Care
So, what brought everyone on our team to Care Haven? Generally, the same things that attract residents’ families:
- The resolve to set and meet high standards
- The drive to keep abreast of new developments and continually improve care
- The chance to create a welcoming community for residents, families and team members, alike
- A safer, less stressful environment for both residents and caregivers
- And most important, a commitment to providing the best Alzheimer’s care — always
Following Neil’s example, our senior managers work together to build our team. In other words, they make it their job to hire, develop and support talented, dedicated professionals. (To demonstrate their impressive track record, we point to our Operations Manager, Activities Director and nursing staff.)
If you’re interested in joining our team, then visit the Careers page to learn about our memory care assisted living jobs!
Business Office