OTTAWA — Diane Drake has announced her retirement as the executive director of the Elizabeth Layton Center. A registered nurse, Drake will remain with the Layton Center as a nurse practitioner treating people with mental illnesses in the center’s Miami County clinics. Drake has served more than 30 years in Kansas community mental health care and became the executive director of the Layton Center in 1994. When she started, the Layton Center had 20 employees, one location in Ottawa and a $400,000 budget. In August 2006, Drake was instrumental in the decision to contract with the Miami County Commission to provide community mental health care for the county. Today, the Layton Center is a $7.5 million operation with more than 150 employees providing services to 4,400 clients each year in four locations in the two counties. Leslie Bjork has been named interim executive director of the Layton Center. Bjork is a licensed psychologist with more 16 years of service at the Layton Center, serving as family services coordinator, outpatient coordinator and clinical director for the center.
Monday, Feb. 16, 10 a.m.
