On Thursday, I was in Kansas City at the Children's Mercy Hospital and Hall Family Outpatient Center to see how research conducted there improves the care of pediatric patients throughout Kansas and the region. Children’s Mercy provides more than 40 pediatric specialty services to patients and has the area's highest and most comprehensive level of neonatal intensive care, the region's only level I pediatric trauma center, and nationally recognized pediatric specialists, surgeons, and nurses. 

The hospital has recently partnered with the University of Kansas Medical Center and the National Institutes of Health to build research infrastructure through a new program called “Frontiers: The Heartland Institute for Clinical and Translational Research.”  Frontiers is a network of scientists and doctors working on translational research – research focused on transforming laboratory discoveries into treatments and cures for both adult and pediatric patients. Children’s Mercy is already at the forefront of children’s health and this partnership will continue the development of the hospital’s research. The Frontiers program is significant because it brings together a variety of different health care institutions to work toward the shared goal of advancing patient-centered research. 

Thank you to the following individuals at Children’s Mercy for hosting my tour of their impressive facility: Randall O’Donnell, President and CEO; Sandra Lawrence, Executive Vice President and CFO; Charles Roberts, Executive Vice President and Executive Medical Director; Michael Artman, Chair of the Department of Pediatrics and Director of Research Strategy and Implementation; Gregory Kearns, Chair of Research Development and Clinical Trials; Genny Nicholas, Vice President of Government Relations; and Dallas Polen, Chief of Public Policy Strategy. Click here to see a photo from the visit.