Dr. Alice Berry Graham, together with her sister Dr. Katherine Berry Richardson, devoted their lives to providing access to medical care for children of all backgrounds in Kansas City and founded the institution that grew into Children's Mercy Hospital. Dr. Alice Berry Graham was the eldest of the two founders, and in recognition of her expertise and effort that led to the development, growth, and success of Children's Mercy until her death at the age of 63 in 1913, her sister insisted that this building, which was home to the hospital from 1917 to 1970, include this cornerstone which recognized the work of her later sister. With a background in multiple areas of the country, and with her sister by her side, Dr. Graham brought a necessary practice to Kansas City in a time where medical care for children had not been a top priority. The care she bestowed upon others, as well as her diligent spirit, lives on in the Children's Mercy Hospital to this day.
Wheatley-Provident Hospital opened in 1918 as Kansas City's first hospital for African American residents in the era of segregation. Construction of this building occurred in 1902 for St. Joseph's Parochial School before its conversion to a hospital that became one of the cornerstones of the city's Black Communities. The hospital's origins also date back to 1902, the year when J. Edward Perry established a hospital and training school for nurses. Known as the Perry Sanitarium in 1910, that institution provided a place for training and employing doctors and nurses in addition to providing the first place where people of color could reliably receive healthcare in an era when hospitals largely barred access to African Americans, sometimes even denying or delaying service in cases where life-saving medical intervention was needed. With the support of Kansas City organizations and philanthropists, Dr. Perry moved his organization to this building which served as the home of Wheatley-Provident hospital from 1918 until 1972. After the 1970s, the building was used as a haunted house before eventually falling into disrepair. A group recently purchased the building to save it from the wrecking ball and they hope to restore the building and return it to service to the community. As a result, the brick building survives as a lasting reminder not only of segregation and exclusion, but also the vital role of Black institutions that served the people of Kansas City.
Constructed in 1930 to replace Kansas City's original City Hospital, General Hospital No. 2 served the African American population until the city integrated its public hospital system in 1958. When the hospital was first constructed, this facility was regarded as the finest hospital in the United States to be built specifically for African Americans. The hospital won numerous honors and reflected the political power of Black voters and leaders in the era when the Pendergast Machine controlled the city. In its almost three decades of operation, the hospital served as a training ground for Black physicians and also serves as a source of pride and professional employment. At the same time, General Hospital No. 2 was more than a symbol of segregation, as the city failed to provide equal funding and support, leading to a separate and unequal system of health care in Kansas City. After the city integrated its hospitals, this building was home to the Western Missouri Mental Health Center for many years. The building was demolished in 2003 and as of 2022, there is no historical marker.
This is the original location of Research Hospital, founded as "German Hospital" by Kansas City’s German community in 1887. The hospital’s mission was to provide quality medical care to the people of Kansas City, regardless of race, creed, or ability to pay. Starting in a three-story house, German Hospital later grew to include a complex of buildings, including a research laboratory and school of nursing, thanks to tireless fundraising and the generosity of prominent German Americans, including William Volker. During the First World War, when anti-German sentiment was strong, the trustees changed the name to Research Hospital. The name change followed closely after the opening of the hospital's research laboratory, the first of its kind in the region. Research Hospital operated on Hospital Hill in the shadow of Kansas City’s more extensive facilities, General Hospital No. 1 and General Hospital No. 2. The small hospital operated for decades before raising the money to build a new, much larger, modern facility at Meyer Blvd and Prospect in 1963. The original Research complex was purchased by the city and used by General Hospital until its abandonment and eventual demolition. University Health #4 Office Building sits at this location today.
The history of medicine in Kansas City dates back to 1870, seventeen years after the city's incorporation, when the first hospital arose in what is now the Hospital Hill neighborhood. The evolution of hospitals and medical instruction often included facilities constructed in Hospital Hill, including the recent erection of Children's Mercy Research Institute. Its windows and lighting system mimics the DNA mutations and sequences of genetic anomalies found in patients with rare diseases. The lighting speaks to the profound advancement of medical science from 1870 to the twenty-first century.
General Hospital was completed in 1908 to accommodate Kansas City's growth and the increased reliance by the public on hospitals for medical care. As more people relied on hospitals for medical care, local citizens began an effort to secure public funding for a new hospital and voters approved a bond issue of $225,000 in 1903. Two years later, Colonel Thomas Swope donated 4.5 acres of land atop a hill between Gillham and current-day Kenwood. While constructing the architects realized that the original cost estimates fell short for the hospital to meet the needs of the city. They doubled the beds which doubled the cost. Swope's donation of this land for medical care led to more facilities being constructed in the area and soon the area was known as "Hospital Hill." With newer and larger hospitals being constructed throughout the city, Hospital Hill became home to additional facilities, including Truman Medical Center in 1976, the same year General Hospital served its last patients. The former hospital was demolished in the early 1990s despite efforts by preservationists who hoped at least part of the historic hospital could be repurposed to fit the needs of the city once again.
This was the location of St. Mary's Hospital, which served the Kansas City community from 1909 to 1988. Built by the Franciscan Order of the Sisters of Saint Mary, over the years the hospital grew from a humble beginning in a modest brick building with 150 beds to major hospital complex covering several acres. However, by the early 1980s, declining admissions and the high costs of maintaining the aging infrastructure were deciding factors in the hospital's relocation to Blue Springs, Mo. in 1988. The original buildings were mostly vacated and were demolished in 2004 to make way for the Federal Reserve Building. Today all that remains is a small monument at this location built of bricks from the first 1909 building. The monument holds the original cornerstone and the hospital chapel's bell.
Established in 1971 as the Westport Free Health Clinic, KC Care Health Clinic strives to provide promote health and wellness by offering services to area residents that include HIV prevention, behavioral health, primary care services, and dentistry. The clinic began with only volunteers and donations, operating out of the lobby of the Alcazar Hotel. Over the past fifty years, the clinic has grown to include full-time and part-time staff and significant grant funding.
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.
Founded in 1874 by the Sisters Of St. Joseph of Carondelet and known for its long tradition of providing high quality care. It has a Catholic Heritage and is still present in modern times. The hospital was sold in 2015 to its current owner Prime Healthcare.St.Joseph's Medical Center also houses the "Center For Pharmaceutical Research Center" where various vaccine and other health conditions' research are open for the public to apply for. The medical center also provides care ranging from normal wound care, to breast cancer checks.The old hospital has been granted many awards and recognition for the quality healthcare that they provide.
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Kansas City is home to many hospitals and each have a unique history. All of the hospitals listed either still currently exist or have been decommissioned and are now apart of history.
