Children’s Mercy Hospital
Health Systems Children's Mercy Hospital and ClinicsChildren’s Mercy Hospital
501(c)(3)
2401 Gillham Rd.
Kansas City, MO
Total Sex Change Patients
Total Surgery Patients
Total Hormone and Puberty Blocker Patients
Total Prescriptions Written
Total Submitted Charges
Children’s Mercy Hospital Kansas is the Overland Park, Kansas, location of Children’s Mercy Kansas City, a nonprofit health system based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Children’s Mercy Kansas City system operates the Gender Pathway Services (GPS) program that provides “gender-affirming care” to minors. Claims data shows the Kansas location, as well as the larger Children’s Mercy Kansas City system in Missouri, have billed for hormone therapy and sex change surgeries for minors in previous years. These procedures are currently banned in Missouri; a law that went into effect August 2023 prohibits healthcare providers from performing gender medical interventions on minors.
For more information on the specific procedure and diagnostic codes and other methodology used to make these determination, read our white paper here.
Key Findings
According to the hospital’s website, “Gender Pathway Services at Children’s Mercy provides interdisciplinary, family-centered services for transgender and gender-questioning children.”
“In coordination with the Gender Pathways Services team, the hospital provides a ‘guide’ team dedicated to ‘comprehensive care for children with differences of sexual development.’”
In the comprehensive care for young children ages two through six, Children’s Mercy advises that they “may begin to express identity for one gender or another through play or expression.”
For older children aged seven through pre-adolescence, the GUIDE Team suggests “gender identity is usually firmly established and can be stated by your child.”
Children’s Mercy maintains a Graduate Medical Education DEI Committee where it aims “to diversify the physician workforce by actively recruiting individuals with a broad range of different experiences, expressions, and viewpoints to become future leaders in medicine.” As part of this track, Dr. Seth Lamb, a pediatric resident at Children’s Mercy, completed a project aimed to improve residents’ care for gender diverse youth.
In December 2022, The Heartlander published an article on the “gender-affirming” practices offered to children as young as two years old.
In April 2023, Children’s Mercy sued Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s office over an investigation into the hospital’s transgender care services.
In August 2023, the Missouri Attorney General’s office sent Children’s Mercy a notice to stop providing “gender-affirming care” to minors.
Children’s Mercy earned the “LGBTQ Healthcare Equality Leader” designation with a score of 100 on Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Healthcare Equality Index.
What sex change treatments do they provide?
Gender Pathway Services (GPS)
Gender Pathway Services at Children’s Mercy serves “gender questioning youth” and “transgender, gender non-binary, or gender-fluid youth” and “provides interdisciplinary, family-centered services for transgender and gender-questioning children.”
The GPS Program offers “services that support the physical, mental and social health of young people and their families as they navigate the process of gender identity development.”
The program reportedly recognizes that each person has a different “pathway” and makes it their goal “to keep families informed of their treatment options and to provide them with medical and emotional support, advocacy and community resources.”
As part of the GPS Clinic, speech-language pathologists at Children’s Mercy “assist transgender people with adjusting their vocal range.”
“In coordination with the Gender Pathways Services team, the hospital provides a ‘GUIDE’ team dedicated to ‘comprehensive care for children with differences of sexual development.’”
The GUIDE Team offers information to families navigating stages or “milestones” of life.
In the comprehensive care for young children ages two through six, Children’s Mercy advises that they “may begin to express identity for one gender or another through play or expression.”
For older children aged seven through pre-adolescence, the GUIDE Team suggests “gender identity is usually firmly established and can be stated by your child.”
Educational Resources
In May 2018, Children’s Mercy published a post answering many commonly-asked questions from parents about transgender children.
In June 2019, Children’s Mercy published a post on tips for talking to your kids about sexual orientation, explaining their definition of sexual orientation and gender identity.
In July 2021, Children’s Mercy published another post on various tips parents can use to support kids when talking about gender.
Definitions
SEX CHANGE PATIENTS: Total unique children who underwent “gender-affirming” surgical procedures or hormone/puberty blocker therapy.
TOTAL SURGERY PATIENTS: Total unique children who underwent “gender-affirming” surgical procedures.
TOTAL HORMONE AND PUBERTY BLOCKERS PATIENTS: Total unique children who were prescribed puberty blockers or received gender-affirming hormone therapy.
TOTAL PRESCRIPTIONS WRITTEN: Total number of prescriptions written by a provider for puberty blockers or gender-affirming hormones for children.
TOTAL SUBMITTED CHARGES: This is the initial amount a healthcare provider or pharmacy submits to the insurance company for a specific service, treatment, or prescription before the insurance company reviews and adjusts the payment. This value includes both the pharmacy-submitted cost of prescription drug claims and the line-item charges associated with medical procedures. Please note that this amount does not necessarily reflect the full cost of the procedure or prescription, as it is subject to adjustments and negotiations by the insurance company.
Leadership
Executive Leadership
Name | Title | Compensation |
---|---|---|
Paul D Kempinski, MS, FACHE | President & CEO | $7,621,860 |
Jim Simaras, MBA, CPA | EVP & CFO | N/A |
Robin Foster, JD | EVP, General Counsel | $765,437 |
Robert Steele, MD | EVP & Chief Strategy/Innovation Officer | $769,907 |
Jodi Coombs, MBA, BSN, RN | EVP, Chief Operating Officer | $763,296 |
Doug Rivard, DO | Interim EVP & Physician-in-Chief | N/A |
Alex Daneshmand, DO, MBA | EVP & Chief Quality Officer | $568,792 |
Thomas Wright, MSA | EVP & Chief HR Officer | $506,153 |
Jennifer Kingry | Interim CFO | $388,234 |
Shawn St Peter, MD | SVP/Surgeon-in-Chief; Chair Dept. of Surg | $968,656 |
Thomas Curran, PhD | SVP, CSO, Executive Director-CMRI | $894,441 |
Jeanne James, MD, FAAP, MBA | SVP, Pediatrician-in-Chief Chair, Dept. of Pediatrics | N/A |
Brian Lancaster, CHCIO | SVP and Chief Information and Digital Officer | N/A |
Stephanie Meyer, RN, MS-FNP, NEA-BC | SVP and Chief Nursing Officer | N/A |
Jenea Oliver, PhD | SVP and Chief Development Officer | N/A |
Teresa Olsen | SVP, Chief Marketing Officer | N/A |
Michelle Wimes, JD | SVP, Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer | N/A |
The current leadership/titles are based on the Children’s Mercy leadership website, but the compensation information is from the Children’s Mercy Hospital 2021 Form 990, filed 5/8/23
Compensation reflects the tax year beginning July 1, 2021, and ending June 30, 2022.
Board of Trustees
Name | Title | Compensation |
---|---|---|
Bill Krueger | Chair | $0 |
Diane Gallagher | Vice Chair | N/A |
Vince Clark | Treasurer | $0 |
Charlie Harris, Jr., JD | Secretary | N/A |
Kevin Barth | Member | N/A |
Christy Dempsey | Member | N/A |
Jeff Geheb | Member | N/A |
Paul Kempinski, MS, FACHE | Member | N/A |
Olga Koper | Member | N/A |
Terry Matlack | Member | N/A |
Walter Porter | Member | N/A |
Mary Ann Queen, MD | Member | N/A |
Jennifer Sauer, MD | Member | N/A |
The current leadership/titles are based on the Children’s Mercy leadership website, but the compensation information is from the Children’s Mercy Hospital 2021 Form 990, filed 5/8/23.
Compensation reflects the tax year beginning July 1, 2021, and ending June 30, 2022.
Children’s Mercy appears to elect its Board of Directors for three-year terms, but it is unclear whether this term limit applies to all board members.
In the News
Stay up to date with the latest news and updates.
Children’s Mercy Kansas City hospital offers ‘gender-affirming’ care, apparently to…
12/13/2022In December 2022, the Heartlander published an article on the "gender affirming" practices offered to children as young as 2…
Read More →Children's Mercy responds to MO AG letter reminding providers to…
04/16/2023In April 2023, Children’s Mercy sued the Missouri Attorney General Andre Bailey’s office over an investigation into the hospital's transgender…
Read More →Children’s Mercy Hospital receives notice to stop gender-affirming care to…
08/30/2023In August 2023, the Missouri AG’s office sent Children’s mercy hospital a notice to stop gender-affirming care to minors.
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