Children's Mercy Hospital

Description

About Us
Childrens Mercy Hospitals and Clinics is a comprehensive pediatric medical center which is the only freestanding childrens hospital between St Louis and Denver We are consistently ranked among the leading childrens hospitals in the nation and we were the first hospital in Missouri or Kansas to receive the prestigious Magnet designation for excellence in patient care from the American Nurses Credentialing Center We provide stateoftheart care for children from birth to age 18 who come to us from throughout Missouri and Kansas and beyond In addition to the clinical expertise provided by our pediatric specialists Childrens Mercy is also a leader in providing pediatric medical education to the physicians and nurses of the future and in conducting cuttingedge pediatric medical research to discover the treatments and cures of tomorrow And Childrens Mercy is nationally recognized for our innovation in creating a familycentered environment that is focused on the unique needs of hospitalized children and their families

There are a million reasons to choose Childrens Mercy Hospitals and Clinics but really all you need is one When its your child it has to be Childrens Mercy

Mission
Childrens Mercy Hospital provides the highest level of medical care technology services equipment and facilities in promoting the health and wellbeing of children in the region from birth through adolescence Patients and their families are treated with compassion in a familycentered environment that recognizes their physical emotional financial social and spiritual needs The comprehensive health care environment provided by the hospital includes clinical services research and teaching efforts which are designed to serve todays and tomorrows children and the community in which they live

History

History
Childrens Mercy begins with two compassionate sisters

The history of Childrens Mercy Hospital can be traced to June 1897 and two sisters Dr Alice Berry Graham a dentist and Dr Katharine Berry Richardson a physician

A saloon keeper from the Kansas City Stockyards district had heard of the sisters reputation for helping poor sick children and he told Dr Graham of a woman hed seen in the streets trying to give away her crippled 5yearold daughter

Drs Graham and Richardson found the girl abandoned undernourished and poorly clothed They arranged a bed for her at a small hospital on 15th and Cleveland in downtown Kansas City on June 24 1897 The doctors established the Free Bed Fund Association and through painstaking care they restored life to the orphaned childs crippled legs With surgery and therapy she walked again

Their act of compassion and medical expertise was the beginning of what would become The Childrens Mercy Hospital

Today the Childrens Mercy health care system includes the stateoftheart 314bed hospital at 2401 Gillham Road in Kansas City bustling outpatient clinics in midtown and in suburban Johnson County Kan and outreach clinics in outlying communities Children and families from six states are regularly served by the hospital which sees patients living from coast to coast and even overseas

Significant dates in Childrens Mercys history

1897 Free Bed Fund Association of Sick Crippled Deformed and Ruptured Children opened its doors with one bed on June 24

1901 Central Governing Board of the Free Bed Fund approves the Mercy name

1904 Dr Robert Schauffler was the first male physician allowed to practice at the hospital Officially called Mercy Hospital and opens with five beds at 414 Highland Avenue Only offered maternity and pediatric services Grew to 27 beds by 1906

1913 Alice Berry Graham dies

1914 Hospital is deeded two acres of land at Independence and Woodland avenues for new facility

1916 Childrens Mercy Hospital opens at Independence and Woodland on Nov 27 59 patients moved from Highland location 375000 raised between 19151916 to construct building Serves as home for Childrens Mercy until 1970

1917 The Kansas City Board of Education began supporting a teaching staff so patients requiring a prolonged stay at the hospital could continue their education A bedside or classroom teacher has been provided during the school year ever since

1922 Childrens Mercy celebrates its 25th anniversary

1933 Katharine Berry Richardson dies

1933 Elizabeth Martin RN becomes supervisor of the hospital and oversees its operations for the next 30 years

1948 Hospital dismantles isolation wards

1956 Dr Wayne Hart begins work as hospitals first medical director the only fulltime physician practicing at Childrens Mercy His first assignment was to establish a residency program with the University of Kansas

1964 An elementary school at 351 South Park is dedicated to the memory of cofounder Katharine Berry Richardson

1968 Groundbreaking for the hospital at its current location 2401 Gillham Road on Hospital Hill

1970 Hospital staff moves 39 children to the hospitals Gillham location on Dec 17

1975 Adolescent Medicine Clinic opens to serve the unique medical and psychosocial needs of preteen and teenage patients

1985 The Pediatric Care Center moves to the Diagnostic and Treatment Center adjacent to the hospital It is the first clinic to move offsite signaling the need for more room Today the PCC is back on Hospital Hill and the Adolescent Clinic is at 46th and Paseo

1987 The first pedicatric specialty clinics open in Overland Park Kan to meet the needs of the growing population in the southern part of the metropolitan area Additional clinics are added and an outpatient surgery center also opens in Johnson County before the establishment of Childrens Mercy South ten years later

1992 Ground broken for expansion of the Childrens Mercy system with the addition of an outpatient center and a patient tower at the Hospital Hill location Centennial Campaign fundraising effort begins 68 million raised in two years

1993 Based on the knowledge that many children get well faster at home Childrens Mercy Home Care begins to provide care for children in the comfort of their homes

1995 Fivestory Hall Family Outpatient Center opens with 21 pediatric specialty clinics has about 150000 patient visits in first year Childrens Mercy purchases land in Overland Park for the development of Childrens Mercy South a smaller version of the existing hospital without intensive care units or an emergency room

1996 Sevenstory Herman and Helen Sutherland Outpatient Tower opens allowing the hospital to enhance the patient and familyfriendly environment of the hospital providing parent beds in rooms and a more comfortable atmosphere

1996 Established Family Health Partners a nonprofit HMO providing health care services to the medically vulnerable and uninsured through the State of Missouris MC program

1997 A yearlong centennial celebration is underway Childrens Mercy named one of the top childrens hospitals in the country by Child magazine Childrens Mercy South opens in Overland Park in October

1999 Childrens Mercy purchases a primary care pediatric practice in Wyandotte County and establishes the Parallel Parkway Clinic to meet the needs of an underserved area of Kansas City Kan Additional doctors and staff are added and the practice continues to grow eventually becoming Childrens Mercy West in 2007

2000 Staff and patients move into the Paul and Betty Henson Patient Tower a complement to the Sutherland Tower Combined the towers provide updated private rooms to most Childrens Mercy patients and families as well as other features

2001 The public portion of a 50 million fundraising drive begins to support the Childrens Mercy Research Vision a plan to improve the lives of children through discoveries from worldclass researchers working at Childrens Mercy

2003 Named one of the Top 10 Childrens Hospitals in America by Child magazine

2003 Awarded Magnet designation for nursing excellence the first hospital in Missouri or Kansas and just the third childrens hospital nationwide to achieve this honor from the American Nurses Credentialing Center

2003 In response to requests by community pediatricians and residents work begins in Childrens Mercy Northland an urgent care center and specialty clinic in the north part of the metropolitan area


2003 Pediatric Research Center opens in 32000 square feet on top two floors of the new Clinic and Research Building on Hospital Hill

2004 Primary Care Center opens in new Clinic and Research Building This combines primary care clinics that had previously operated on Main Street and Paseo Boulevard Teen Clinic formerly Adolescent Clinic moves to Paseo location

2007 Childrens Mercy West a primary care clinic opens in Wyandotte County as the new location for the hospitals Parallel Parkway Clinic

2007 Childrens Mercy announces a comprehensive 15year expansion plan to add inpatient beds outpatient clinic space research labs and more with a price tag that could approach 800 million

2008 Childrens Mercy becomes the first hospital in Missouri or Kansas to receive Magnet redesignation

2008 Dr Stephen Spielberg an internationallyknown pediatrician and researcher joins the Childrens Mercy staff as director of the hospitals new Center for Personalized Medicine and Therapeutic Innovation