Kansas City Medical Society

03/20/2026

This week we celebrated Certified Nurses Day and the extraordinary professionals who pursue specialty certification because they believe their patients deserve that standard of care. At KCMS Foundation, our Healthcare Workforce Initiative is focused on building pathways into nursing and allied health for people in our community who reflect the patients they will serve. A credentialed, representative workforce is not just good ethics, it’s good medicine.

But at the end of the day, Kansas City simply needs more nurses. Read this special to the KC Star by James Spence, associate dean and associate clinical professor at UMKC School of Nursing and Health Studies.
,

If we don’t grow the number of nurses entering the workforce, the U.S. is estimated to have a shortage of nearly 190,000 RNs each year through 2034. | Opinion

03/20/2026

Eid Mubarak to all who are celebrating. As the month of Ramadan comes to a close, we recognize the Muslim patients, families, and healthcare workers in our community who have observed a month of fasting, prayer, and reflection.

For providers, Ramadan is also a reminder of the importance of culturally competent care. Patients managing diabetes, hypertension, kidney disease, and other chronic conditions often adjust or pause medications during Ramadan, sometimes without telling their care team. Understanding those choices, and approaching them with respect and partnership, is how we build the trust that leads to better outcomes.

EthnoMed’s Ramadan Provider Toolkit is a practical resource for any care team.

,

A toolkit for health providers with patients who observe Ramadan; health education videos for patients who are diabetic and will be fasting

03/19/2026

🚨ACTION ALERT🚨

The Kansas House will soon vote on SB 363, a harmful bill that attacks the Kansas Medicaid program and increases red tape for the lowest wage Kansans -- primarily single mothers who are already struggling to make sure their children are housed and fed.

Kansas Representatives need to hear from their constituents on this!

We've created a form to help you send a message to your representative:
https://secure.everyaction.com/uQIiIacUnUuuUXdBK-iZNw2

Please share with your friends & family!

03/18/2026

SB 522 - Kansas Medical Freedom Act
Take Action Now to Protect Public Health in Kansas
We urge you to contact your Kansas state senator and let them know to oppose SB 522, a dangerous bill that would ban schools and public spaces from making reasonable requirements to protect public health.

Kansas Action Alert: SB 522

SB 522, also known as the Medical Freedom Act would make it harder for Kansas schools and public spaces to take preventative steps to protect public health.

This would make it harder to prevent outbreaks like measles and whooping cough, reduce protections for first responders, and increase costs for Kansas families and our state.

We’re asking you to take a moment to contact your Kansas state Senator and urge them to vote NO on SB 522.

Follow the link to find information on how to contact your Senator today: https://bit.ly/40AnJf0

03/18/2026

March is Endometriosis Awareness Month. Endometriosis affects roughly 1 in 10 women, yet it takes an average of 7 to 10 years to receive a diagnosis. That delay is not a medical mystery. It is a reflection of how long women's pain has been dismissed, minimized, or misattributed. Physicians and care teams can change that by listening, referring early, and taking symptoms seriously.

03/16/2026

Happy Monday! Friday was World Sleep Day. Were you able to catch up this weekend on your sleep?

We spend a lot of time in medicine talking about what patients eat and how much they move, and not enough talking about sleep. Chronic sleep deprivation is linked to hypertension, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

It also affects the people providing care: physician burnout, medical errors, and compassion fatigue all have roots in exhaustion. Sleep is not a lifestyle preference. It is a clinical issue, and it deserves the same attention we give every other risk factor.

World Sleep Day has a tool kit that provides resources and guidance.

The World Sleep Day toolkit provides free resources and guidance for you to help plan your World Sleep Day activities. Download here. Become a Delegate to receive the World Sleep Day 2026 logos for use in your activity.Sign up to be a Delegate at worldsleepday.org/become-a-delegate Submit your activ...

03/13/2026

Today, we submitted testimony in the Senate Committee on Public Health and Welfare in opposition to SB 522, which would eliminate vaccine requirements for schools, hospitals, and employers across Kansas. Kidney disease, cancer, and other chronic conditions leave patients immunocompromised and dependent on the protection that high vaccination rates provide in clinical settings. Stripping healthcare providers of the ability to set evidence-based safety standards puts our most vulnerable patients at direct risk.

03/12/2026

Today is World Kidney Day. Chronic kidney disease affects 37 million Americans, yet most do not know they have it. High blood pressure and diabetes are the leading causes, and both are manageable with early intervention and consistent access to care. For uninsured patients across the Kansas City region, that access is far from guaranteed.

Our MetroCare and WyJo Care programs connect working Kansans with donated specialty care, including nephrology, so that a missed diagnosis is never the result of an empty
wallet.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1bUdVxhAHE/

World Kidney DayRaising awareness of theimportance of our kidneysWho we areWKD 2025 Scientific EditorialAre Your Kidneys Ok?Detect early to protect kidney healthRead the 2025 Scientific EditorialKidney QuizAre your kidneys healthy? Take the quiz to find outTake the quiz find out more find out more f...

03/11/2026

Tomorrow we’ll join the Alliance for a Healthy Kansas at the Statehouse to push for expanded access to healthcare.

We are also testifying in opposition to SB 363, a bill that would require KanCare (Medicaid) recipients to recertify every three months. Quarterly redeterminations create unnecessary barriers that cause eligible Kansans to lose coverage, not because they are ineligible, but because extensive paperwork is hard when you are working two jobs or managing a chronic illness.

Access to care should not be a luxury. Tell your legislators: coverage continuity matters.

Join us for the Rally for Health Care: March 12, 2026, 12:30pm, 2nd floor rotunda of the Kansas Statehouse in Topeka.

Join the Alliance for a Healthy Kansas and other advocates for the 2026 Rally for Health Care at the Kansas Statehouse. We'll gather together to hear from advocates about why protecting and expanding access to health care is so critical, and you can set up time to meet with your legislators.

02/26/2026

Shout out to Black Men In White Coats, when kids see doctors who look like them, they start to believe: I can be that too. Thank you for your work building the pipeline and the possibility.

02/26/2026

"Medicaid is not a benefit received by people who don’t really deserve it. KanCare is their lifeline."

As Kansas considers adding new restrictions to food and medical assistance, we urge policymakers to center real people and real community impact. Barriers don’t create healthier communities, access does.

I see people with disabilities every day. I see their needs and their hopes and dreams. Let's make their lives easier, not harder

02/24/2026

As we commemorate Black History Month, we are continuing to recognize Black trailblazers whose leadership helped shape American medicine.

Dr. Daniel Hale Williams was a pioneering surgeon and institution builder. He founded Provident Hospital in Chicago, the first black owned and operated hospital in the United States, expanding opportunities for Black clinicians and increasing access to hospital care at a time when doors were often closed. He is also remembered for performing the world’s first open heart surgery in 1893.

His story reminds us that progress in health care is not only about medical breakthroughs. It is also about building strong institutions where talented people can train, serve, and lead.

Learn more about Dr. Williams:

Opening Doors: Contemporary African American Academic Surgeons recognizes the long tradition of African American physicians, midwives, and healers, by highlighting contemporary surgeons and educators who exemplify excellence in their fields and mentor younger generations of African American physicia...