The First Ten Years of the Riordan Clinic

By Amber Ragland, Director of Marketing

When people first laid eyes on the pyramid rising from the prairie on Wichita’s north side, they weren’t quite sure what to make of it. What could it be? A school? A science center? In a way, it was all three and more.

That pyramid and the seven domes surrounding it would become the Riordan Clinic, one of the earliest institutions in the United States devoted to what we now call functional medicine. But the story begins a decade before that landmark campus was built, with a simple but powerful idea: what if chronic illness could be treated by identifying and correcting its underlying causes?

Origins: A Meeting of Minds

In 1975, Dr. Hugh Riordan, a psychiatrist with a deep curiosity for root-cause healing, met Olive W. Garvey, a bold and forward-thinking philanthropist. Their meeting was brief, but catalytic. Riordan believed that nutrition and biochemistry played a major role in both physical and mental health, an idea still considered fringe at the time. Mrs. Garvey, a lifelong learner and business leader, had grown frustrated with what she saw as the limitations of conventional approaches to mental wellness.

She decided to take a chance. With her support, Dr. Riordan opened a small research laboratory in Wichita focused on “the improvement of human functioning”—a phrase that captured their shared vision of helping people not just survive, but truly thrive​.

A Different Kind of Medicine

The early work of the clinic was hands-on and deeply personal. Patients came in, often as a last resort, and were met with something they didn’t expect: time, attention, and a medical team willing to dig deeper.

Rather than merely treating symptoms, Dr. Riordan and his staff investigated nutritional deficiencies, trace mineral imbalances, and metabolic patterns. The laboratory tested for B vitamin levels, zinc, copper, and other essential nutrients often overlooked in conventional care. IV nutrient therapy, dietary changes, and targeted supplementation were used to support healing. Results followed sometimes dramatically.

By 1980, the demand for services had grown so significantly that the clinic expanded to a purpose-built campus featuring natural light, circular domes, and a central pyramid. The architecture wasn’t just symbolic; it reflected the clinic’s commitment to whole-person healing, energy efficiency, and a calming environment for patients and staff alike​​.

Building a Model for Functional Medicine

Over the next several years, the clinic earned a reputation for thinking differently. Educational seminars, community outreach, and a monthly newsletter, Health Hunters, helped spread the word. Articles covered topics like vitamin therapy for mental illness, immune system support, and trace element testing.

Even as skepticism came from the mainstream, the clinic pressed on. Dr. Riordan often reminded his colleagues of Linus Pauling’s wisdom: “If your colleagues aren’t up on something, they tend to be down on it.” With a mixture of science, humility, and persistence, the clinic built a model that would become a blueprint for modern integrative care.

Turning Toward Cancer Care

Toward the end of its first decade, a new frontier emerged: cancer.

Dr. Riordan, influenced by the work of Pauling and others, began investigating the use of intravenous vitamin C (IVC) as a complementary therapy for cancer patients. Initial cases were promising. Patients reported fewer side effects from chemotherapy, improved appetite, and greater energy. This marked a pivotal shift. Cancer care at the clinic would become one of its most significant contributions to integrative medicine, leading to the development of the now internationally recognized Riordan IVC Protocol​​.

A Foundation That Still Holds

By the close of its first ten years, the Riordan Clinic had evolved from a modest lab into a national leader in patient-centered nutritional medicine. Its founders believed that health is not merely the absence of disease, but the presence of optimal function, and that belief shaped every service, study, and interaction.

Fifty years later, the pyramid still stands. So does the vision.

And though much has changed in the landscape of medicine, the clinic’s roots remain strong:

• Treat the whole person.

• Search for the underlying cause.

• Use nutrition as a foundational tool.

• Respect the patient’s innate ability to heal.

As we look toward the future, especially in the realm of integrative oncology, we do so standing on the shoulders of those first ten years years of courage, conviction, and care.

References:

• Miner, Craig. Pyramid on the Prairie: A History of the Center for the Improvement of Human Functioning. Riordan Clinic, 2011​

• Dr. Hugh Riordan, IVC and Cancer in a 28-Year-Old Patient​

• Vitamin C in Cancer and Other Diseases, Dr. Riordan Speech Collection​

• Cancer: Complementary and Conventional Approaches, Dr. Riordan Speeches​

• Newspaper Archives on the Domes, 1980 Construction Features​