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, his wife Lisa and father-in-law Howard Mick 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.
Howard Mick retired from a legal practice that spanned more than 52 years. In 1959, he joined one of Kansas City's oldest and most respected law firms, Stinson, Mag & Fizzell (a predecessor of Stinson LLP). He ultimately became a partner of that firm and served in various management and legal capacities. Howard's law practice focused primarily on business. He also served as a director on several corporate boards.
Howard has shared his business insights and leadership skills with his church and area civic organizations. An ordained elder of Second Presbyterian Church, he also served as its finance chairman. Howard is active in the Downtown Kansas City Rotary Club 13. In addition, he has served as a volunteer, board member or advisory board member for several not-for-profit organizations.
We're grateful for Howard's clear-sightedness and board-level expertise. He provides invaluable wisdom when we encounter the challenges of operating in a highly regulated industry crowded by large national chains, still suffering from the fallout of a recent pandemic.
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's extensive background in senior living is quite an asset in her current role at Care Haven. Her responsibilities include oversight of
* Business operations
* Caregiver recruitment, training and retention
* Attracting new residents and serving as the liaison for their families
Julie is supported by her capable staff: two Operations Managers and our Activities Director.
Registered Nurse
Andrea Schneider started as a CNA in a senior care facility nearly 30 years ago. Next, she worked for a Home Plus that offered dementia care, beginning as a nurse aide and leaving as an LPN five years later. In other words, Andrea has long understood what it takes to be a front-line Alzheimer's caregiver -- and why memory care is better on a small scale.
Andrea graduated from Neosho County Community College's RN Program in 2004. After nine years in the Labor and Delivery departments of Lawrence Memorial and St. Luke's South, she turned to hospice care. Starting as a case manager, Andrea quickly moved into management, eventually to Regional Manager at Ascend Hospice. She worked in hospice care for 14 years.
Andrea became one of Care Haven's part-time on-call nurses in 2021 and our Director of Nursing in 2022. Given her background, we weren't surprised her clinical care standards were as high as ours. However, we were delighted she's also a natural at hiring, training, communicating with, mentoring and retaining team members. These unquestionably are critical management skills in today's highly competitive healthcare employment market.
Most importantly, Andrea grew adept at working with interdisciplinary teams in hospice care. She knows how to build support for people adjusting to new limitations, addressing their changing spiritual, emotional and physical needs. She now shares this gift with our residents, families and staff.
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 better staffing, together with unparalleled attention to the needs of our residents and their families. In every sense of the word, we provide premier memory care.
Of course, Neil didn’t build Care Haven alone. For one thing, his mother first presented him with the idea. Moreover, Neil’s co-owners — Lisa and Howard — offer wise counsel. The company also has a talented nursing and operations team.
Today, Neil and Lisa direct the company’s day-to-day business affairs while the Director of Nursing and the Director of Operations & Marketing oversee our homes.
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