Story: Stacy Downs
Kansas City’s leading health-care institutions team up to support education, entrepreneurship
The newly created UMKC Health Sciences District combines the unique expertise and services of 10 partners to spur research and community outreach in service of the Kansas City region and beyond. The district includes UMKC and its:
- School of Medicine
- School of Nursing and Health Studies
- School of Pharmacy
- School of Dentistry
- And also:
- Truman Medical Centers
- Children’s Mercy Hospital
- Kansas City, Missouri, Health Department
- Missouri Department of Mental Health
- Center for Behavioral Medicine
- Jackson County Medical Examiner
Representatives from each organization gathered in May to sign a memorandum of understanding. The district will be governed by a board of approximately 20 members, including two from each institution.
By including agencies of the city, county and state, the UMKC Health Sciences District is one of a kind.
“We have all worked together already for a long time, and worked very well together, but this opens a new chapter,” said then-Chancellor Leo E. Morton.
Drawing on these institutions’ efforts, the district has the potential to enhance collaboration on education, research and grant requests; combine efforts on community engagement; improve faculty recruitment; coordinate area parking, safety and transportation; and create shared opportunities in wellness for more than 16,000 health professionals, faculty members and students.