St. Luke's Hospital Of Kansas City

Established in 1882, St. Luke’s Hospital has grown into one of the largest hospital systems in the Midwest with over sixteen locations that serve 67 counties centered around Kansas City. This hospital system, which now employs over twelve thousand, began when Reverend David Jardine called a meeting at his church and asked business and civic leaders to support the establishment of a hospital. That original facility operated for eleven years and was followed by a hospital operated by the Episcopal Diocese of West Missouri. The hospital remains non-profit and is operated by a board of directors with the bishop of the diocese serving as the chairman of that board.

St.Luke’s Hospital Of Kansas City was originally founded by an Episcopal priest by the name of Rev. Henry David Jardine. He convened a meeting within Kansas City and with its business men to encourage better healthcare in the sense of hospitals. From this, a hospital was built around 1882 and operated for about 11 years before closing and reopening as Saint Luke’s Hospital Of Kansas City. The Epsicopal Diocese of West Missouri’s first bishop, Rev. Edward Atwill became the sponsor of Saint Luke’s. Currently, The Episcopal Diocese of West Missouri maintains that oversight with the bishop serving as chairman of Saint Luke’s Board Of Directors. 

In 1997 it was the only hospital in the nation to receive the National Quality Healthcare Award.

In 2011, Saint Luke's Hospital treated itself with a 392,000-square-foot expansion. Which provided a "new home for its Mid America Heart Institute and putting the facility in what hospitals hope is a good position for the future demands of health care reform and changing technology." [2] This expansion was finished with a tower as the final piece of this $330 million project. [2] The tower included the "Muriel Kauffman Women's Heart Center for Women's Care, both of which were dedicated last year (2010)" [2]. The excavation for the expansion started in 2004 with the construction of art of the building near the Country Club Plaza. Expanded features included: 134 patient beds, nursing stations that served two rooms at a time, procedure rooms that were all located on the same floor which were the operating rooms, catheterization labs, and "hybrid" rooms in which cardiologists and surgeons care for their patients side by side, three "healing gardens", and a hospital cafeteria that "resembles a mall food court." [2]

The CEO who oversaw the expansion, G. Richard Hastings, retired in 2011 to go teach at a Baptist seminary and help build political support in Israel. His career at the hospital was more than 36 years, including 15 of those spent as the CEO. During his time there the health organization grew to "8,500 employees at its 11 hospitals, along with doctors' offices and clinics."[3] Along with this he was recognized for his work to improve relations between Christians and Jews, taking multiple trips to Israel over the span of two decades. His statement to the Kansas City Star was "I have a chance now to make my avocation my vocation." [3] With his retirement, Saint Luke's selected their new CEO who was the chief executive of the Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington Vermont, along with being a neurologist, Melinda L Estes. In an interview she said she was "impressed and intrigued" about coming to Saint Luke's which she had stated was "a large, well-managed health system." [4] Currently, Shane Cerone is the CEO of Saint Luke's which became effective as of October 1st, 2020. [1]

[1] Saint Luke's History, Saint Luke's Health System. Accessed January 28th 2022. https://www.saintlukeskc.org/history#.

[2] Twiddy, David. "Saint Luke's treats itself with expansion." The Kansas City Business Journal October 7th-13th 2011. 30 ed.3,30.

[3] Davis, Mark . "St.Luke's Leader Departing." The Kansas City Star (Kansas City) January 13th 2011. , A10-A11.

[4] Stafford, Diane. "St.Luke's Selects New CEO." The Kansas City Star (Kansas City) June 25th 2011. .A11.