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Park Place Behavioral Health Care CEO Jim Shanks, shown at the March groundbreaking of the Dillingham Apartments project in Kissimmee, passed away Aug. 15 at the age of 87.
Jim Shanks, who served as CEO of Park Place Behavioral Health Care in Kissimmee since 2002, and was known community-wide as an "institution" for his contributions, passed away Aug. 18 at age 87 after a brief illness.
A Celebration of Life will be held for Shanks on Saturday, Sept. 2 at 2 p.m. at the Church of the Ascension, l4950 S. Apopka-Vineland Road in Orlando, with a reception to follow; both are open to the public.
Park Place is Osceola County’s community behavioral health provider of adult and children’s mental health and substance use services with over 300 staff members at sites in Kissimmee, Poinciana, and Ocala. The nonprofit 501c3 is designated as the “single point of entry” to the Osceola County Central Receiving System of Care, and is the primary resource for first responders when they encounter individuals in the community who are in mental health or substance abuse crisis.
Shanks’ fingerprints are all over the facility and the care it provides.
"I feel like Jim committed himself to more than just Park Place \ for more than two decades. He committed himself to the City of Kissimmee and the region with his passion for ensuring accessible mental health and substance abuse treatment for everyone,” said Austin Blake, Kissimmee assistant city manager and a Park Place board member. "Jim also worked around the clock to build connections and seek new opportunities to further the mission of Park Place, which allowed the non-profit organization to provide life-changing services to thousands. He will surely be missed but his legacy for surely live on in the Osceola County community."
Osceola County Commissioner Cheryl Grieb said she knew Shanks almost all her life, having gone to high school with his sons. She said he was an "institution" in the community who was never boastful about his contributions. She recalled that he opened Park Place to the survivors and families of the victims of the Pulse nightclub massacre in 2016. A total of 49 people were shot and killed and another 53 were wounded.
"He has always just been there," Grieb said.
Most recently, Grieb worked with Shanks and others to move the Dillingham Apartments project forward. In March, Grieb, Kissimmee Mayor Olga Gonzalez and Shanks took part in a groundbreaking ceremony to kick off the project, which will bring 30 units of affordable supportive housing. The Dillingham Apartments, located on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard across from the Toho Water Authority building, will ensure individuals with a diagnosis of mental illness or substance abuse issues have an opportunity to have a permanent place to call home. In addition to the apartment units, additional facilities and resources will be available. Construction is expected to be completed by the spring of 2024.
"His passing leaves a big hole in the community," Grieb said.
James Allen Shanks was born in Louisville, Ky., on Aug. 30, 1935.
His professional career started as a nursing home administrator with the Humana Corporation in Kentucky. A series of promotions led him to Minnesota, then Tennessee, and he eventually landed in Central Florida. Humana rewarded Shank's strong work ethic with a promotion to its hospital division.
In 1974, he was named administrator of Osceola Regional Hospital in Kissimmee, the largest hospital in the county. He was later promoted to Lucerne Hospital in Orlando, and eventually became associate executive director for Humana Health Plans of Central Florida.
In 2002, Shanks accepted the position as CEO of Park Place, quickly becoming a leader in the mental health industry.
"Jim used the relationships he had previously forged to garner support and provide for the mental health needs of Osceola County. He worked tirelessly over the next 20 years to ensure Park Place would be successful, and able to provide for the individuals who needed help the most," the obituary stated.
Shanks, as a businessman and civic leader in the local community, served on many boards and received numerous awards, including ones from Humana Club, Rotary Foundation, The Osceola Chamber and Osceola Visionaries.
Shanks is survived by his wife Elaine of 64 years, sons Kelly Owen and Cole Shanks, daughter Kirsten Rodgers, foster child Betty Sperry, 17 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.
Shanks is preceded in death by his daughter: Valli (Horner) Owen, and his son: Jon Luke Shanks.
In lieu of flowers, the family is inviting individuals to make donations in his name to Park Place Behavioral Health Care, 206 Park Place Blvd., Kissimmee, FL 34741. The donations will be used to further support two of Shanks' ongoing projects: the Dillingham Apartments, and the development of the June Street Residential long-term substance abuse program building.
