hospitals

Liberty Hospital announced it would partner with the University of Kansas Health System to help meet growing demand in the Kansas City suburbs north of the Missouri River. But the idea of a Kansas institution taking over a Missouri hospital sparked opposition from lawmakers in both states.

BJC Healthcare has formally closed the deal that merges the St. Louis-based company with Saint Luke's Health System in Kansas City, officials announced Monday. The $10 billion merger creates a system that comprises 28 hospitals across Kansas, Illinois and Missouri.

In the Kansas City area, hospitals are already seeing a steady stream of cases associated with respiratory viruses, including COVID. If the trend of hospitalizations continues, the CDC warns that hospitals will be forced to ration care.

Liberty Hospital in the Northland announced last month that it would partner with the University of Kansas Health System to help provide care. But the announcement is garnering some backlash from local lawmakers — rooted in the fact that it would bring a Kansas institution across state lines.

Does gender dysphoria count as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act? The question lies at the center of a federal lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri earlier this month.

St. Luke's, a Kansas City-based health system that operates 14 hospitals in Kansas and Missouri, has finalized plans to merge with BJC Healthcare in St. Louis. The two systems expect to complete the $10 billion deal by Jan. 1.

When the emergency room in Fort Scott, Kansas, closes next month, the next closest in-state facility will be 40 minutes away — and some patients may not make it that far. Mayor Matthew Wells says the closure shows the need for the Kansas Legislature to pass Medicaid expansion.

City and county officials are working to save ER services in the southeast Kansas community. If that doesn't work, they're trying to prepare by hiring more ambulance drivers.

Hospital systems are merging in deals bring facilities hundreds of miles apart under the same parent company, like St. Luke's and BJC HealthCare. That typically means higher prices for the patients they serve — but federal regulators haven't stepped in to stop consolidation.

An updated COVID-19 vaccine will be in Kansas City in the next few weeks. The shot combats newer variants more effectively and comes as case numbers creep up across the metro.

Eloise Reynolds, a resident of Olivette, Missouri, encountered a perplexing reality in medical billing: Providers can come after patients for more money well after a bill has been paid.

New Growth Transit connects Missouri's rural residents who can't get to their medical and health care appointments with a network of volunteer drivers.