For years, Rev. Robert LaPietra walked the halls of AdventHealth Shawnee Mission as a chaplain, comforting patients in crisis and guiding staff through moments of fatigue, fear, and faith. His wife, Kristy, spent nearly as much time there, but on the inside of the hospital bed instead of beside it.
“We’ve been part of this place for a long time,” Kristy says. “As a patient, a caregiver, a chaplain, a couple. It’s in our story.”
That story, rooted in spiritual calling, shaped by hardship and transformed by love, is what led the LaPietras to include AdventHealth Kansas City Foundation in their estate plan. Their planned gift will be directed to the Spiritual Wellness department, supporting hospital chaplains and caregivers in ways that reflect Robert’s own journey.
But this is more than a financial contribution. It’s a legacy of compassion.
“It isn’t that we have to,” Kristy says. “It’s that we get to.”
A Path Forged in Faith (and Fatigue)
Robert didn’t plan to become a hospital chaplain. In fact, when a friend suggested he apply to AdventHealth’s Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) internship, he had never even heard of the program.
“I didn’t have the data, but I had the calling,” he says. “It was a knowing – something spiritual. I was supposed to be there.”
And so, he entered the CPE program: a rigorous two-year spiritual and clinical training that required didactic coursework, overnight on-call shifts, and hands-on pastoral care across every hospital unit. He paid tuition, bought books, and worked for free. Kristy was recovering from back surgery. They had little income and leaned on retirement savings.
“It was hard,” he recalls. “The schedule, the sleep deprivation, the emotional intensity – it pushed me to my limit.”
There were days when he thought he couldn’t continue. At the end of one very long night, after spilling hot chocolate and collapsing in exhaustion on the sleep room floor, he cried out to God: “Does it have to be this hard?”
But he stayed. And he grew.
Under the guidance of CPE supervisor Victor Wilson, a legendary teacher known for his intensity and insight, Robert learned to ask deeper questions. “Why did I say that? What was driving me? What did that moment reveal?” It was more than chaplaincy training. It was soul work.
“Victor’s motivation to challenge me was not to be mean,” Robert says. “His motivation was because he saw something in me. He was working things out of me so I could be the best chaplain I could be.”
From Intern to Impact
Robert completed all four CPE units. Then, after earning board certification through the College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy (CPSP), he got a call from AdventHealth’s director of spiritual wellness.
“He said, ‘Robert, I watched you. I saw how you were loved by staff, how patients responded to you. I want you on my team,’” Robert recalls. “They didn’t have the budget, but he went to bat for me. They found the money.”
For the next nine years, Robert served as needed as a hospital chaplain. His favorite floor? Behavioral health.
“I’d have patients say, ‘I got more out of this 45-minute conversation than I have from years of therapy,’” he says. “That’s the power of presence, of listening with love.”
Kristy, too, witnessed the impact of Robert’s work. “He has a gift,” she says. “He’s helped so many people, not just in the hospital, but in private practice, in grief coaching, in music, and in ministry.”
Giving Back to the Ones Who Gave So Much
Robert never forgot how hard it was to get through CPE, or how much the caregivers around him gave, often without recognition or rest.
During COVID, he watched nurses collapse into chairs after double shifts, exhausted. He saw the indentations left by N95 masks on their faces. So, he quietly funded a tab at the hospital’s Scooter’s coffee shop, offering free drinks and pastries for any nurse or doctor who showed a badge.
“I wanted to do it anonymously,” he says. “But word got out, and then others wanted to do the same. That inspired me.”
The idea grew: What if they could create something permanent? Something for caregivers and chaplains both, especially those entering the same difficult program Robert once completed?
Together, Robert and Kristy decided to include the AdventHealth Kansas City Foundation in their estate plan. Their planned gift, estimated to be a major portion of their trust, will support:
CPE students: covering tuition, books, meals, and on-call needs
Caregivers hospital-wide: funding coffee days, lunch events, and morale-boosting gifts that show appreciation
Creative Foundation initiatives: empowering the Foundation to stretch the funds in ways that bless the most people
“If you help the caregiver,” Robert says, “you help everyone they touch.”
A Process with Purpose
Setting up a planned gift might sound daunting, but the LaPietras say it was surprisingly doable, thanks to the guidance of AdventHealth Kansas City Foundation’s team.
“We worked closely with Laurie (McCormack, executive director),” Kristy says. “We brainstormed ideas, drafted documents, and went back and forth until it all felt right. She made it so easy.”
They also advise others to consider their own giving capacity, whether it’s $500 for coffee cards or a larger trust-based gift.
“Think of it like a menu,” Kristy says. “There are lots of ways to give. Start with what speaks to you.”
Their own trust includes provisions to reward staff, care for patients, and carry forward the mission of spiritual wellness, “for time and perpetuity.”
“The Foundation knows how to steward it well,” Robert says. “They’ll turn one dollar into ten, and so on.”
A Legacy Rooted in Love
Robert and Kristy’s story isn’t just about giving. It’s about love, in all its forms.
Love that called Robert to chaplaincy. Love that endured long hospital nights and financial hardship. Love that showed up as a cup of coffee during COVID. Love that now lives on in the form of a future gift that will support generations to come.
“We wanted our legacy to be about more than ourselves,” Kristy says. “By giving to our community, we can support the people who show up every day and make a difference.”
For Robert, the decision brings peace.
“When I’m gone, I’ll still be a chaplain to the caregivers,” he says. “I’ll still be blessing people behind the scenes. That’s the legacy I want.”
How You Can Leave a Legacy
If you’re inspired by Robert and Kristy’s story, consider making a planned gift to AdventHealth Kansas City Foundation or AdventHealth Ottawa Foundation. Whether it’s a trust-based contribution, a designated estate gift, or a one-time donation to support caregivers, every act of giving brings comfort, healing, and hope to others.
Be part of the story. Discover how your gift can support caregivers and families at AdventHealth Kansas City and AdventHealth Ottawa. Because sometimes the greatest gifts don’t happen while we’re here, they happen because we were.