Saint Luke's Health System

Saint Luke's Cancer Institute is expanding in the Northland! A comprehensive cancer program will open at Saint Luke's North Hospital next spring, offering additional cancer care services close to home. Learn more from Dr. Timothy Pluard, medical director of Saint Luke's Cancer Institute, on Health News You Can Use. #SaintLukesHealthNews

Semaglutide, the first weight loss drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to reduce the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events, improves symptoms in both men and women who present with heart failure. When it comes to weight loss, however, the drug appears to benefit women much more than men according to a new study from Dr. Mikhail Kosiborod, Vice President of Research at Saint Luke's Health System. Dr. Kosiborod recently presented the new research at the American Diabetes Association’s 2024 Scientific Sessions. Read more: https://bit.ly/3RHPXQU

New treatments for Alzheimer's disease and a newly available blood test are giving more hope to those living with the disease. 7 million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer’s, and that number is expected to double by 2060. Dr. Megan Baumgardner, Saint Luke’s medical director of cognitive neurology, talks about these new treatments and the simple things you can do to help prevent Alzheimer’s on Health News You Can Use. #SaintLukesHealthNews #AlzheimersandBrainAwarenessMonth

Saint Luke’s and BJC HealthCare are six months into a merger that established the combined BJC Health System as a regional health care organization serving patients across Missouri, eastern Kansas and southern Illinois. Julie Quirin, President of BJC’s West region, which consists of Saint Luke’s, and Chris Watts, BJC Chief Strategy Officer, spoke with the Kansas City Business Journal about the early days of the integration, the potential benefit they see for patients and the communities they serve, and what the future may hold. Read the full article from Kansas City Business Journal: https://bit.ly/4ekvo6P

Saint Luke's Cancer Institute, a department of Saint Luke's Hospital of Kansas City, today announced the formation of a new Comprehensive Cancer Program on the campus of Saint Luke's North Hospital. The expansion of Saint Luke’s Cancer Institute will provide the growing Northland community with access to advanced, personalized cancer treatments close to home. “With the Northland’s significant growth over the past decade, the community has a need for easily accessible, comprehensive cancer care.” said Darren Bass, Chief Executive Officer of Saint Luke’s North Region. “With all services provided on one campus, patients will benefit from the full range of Saint Luke’s Cancer Institute’s services and experts without having to travel to multiple locations.” Expected to open in Spring 2025, the Comprehensive Cancer Program will include radiation therapy services and expanded medical oncology and infusion services in the Barry Medical Park Office Building adjacent to the main hospital.

Susie Krug, chief nursing executive for BJC Health System West Region, began her nursing career with Saint Luke’s as a nurse in the Emergency Department in 1999. Early in her career, Susie took part in Saint Luke’s Career Advancement Program for Nurses (CAP), where she discovered a passion for process and protocol improvement. She also took advantage of Saint Luke's tuition reimbursement to obtain her master's degree, which opened even more opportunities for her. Over more than two decades, Susie has steadily grown and added to her Saint Luke's career, culminating in her recent promotion to chief nursing executive earlier this year. “I love working at Saint Luke’s because we are authentic in our care,” Susie said. “Saint Luke’s produces the best nurses, and its success is a sum of each one of them. We see this repeatedly day in and day out.” Saint Luke’s offers many opportunities to advance your nursing career. Find out what opportunities are available to you: https://bit.ly/3V6bEfO #TeamSaintLukes 💙

Today is Juneteenth—a day that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. After the Civil War, many freed slaves relocated to the Steptoe neighborhood just south of Westport to start new chapters of their lives. A number of Steptoe residents worked at Saint Luke’s through the years, making countless positive contributions to the health of our city. Last year, Saint Luke's joined community members to celebrate a new street sign that recognized the return of West 43rd Terrace—adjacent to Saint Luke's Hospital of Kansas City—to its original name of Steptoe Street. While the landscape of this area has changed, Steptoe’s impact and memory live on. Saint Luke’s is proud to collaborate with the Steptoe Lives coalition to keep its legacy and memory alive and ensure that future generations may also know and honor the Steptoe legacy. #Juneteenth

Mikhail Kosiborod, MD, cardiologist at Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute and vice president of research at Saint Luke's Health System, was named Luminary in Cardiometabolic Medicine at the 2024 Heart in Diabetes Conference in Philadelphia. Dr. Kosiborod was honored for his innovative leadership and unique contributions to better understanding the link between diabetes, obesity and heart disease, generating knowledge about novel treatments, and improving the quality of care for patients living with cardiometabolic conditions. “Throughout his career, Dr. Kosiborod has set the standard for excellence in academic medicine," Darren McGuire, MD, who presented the award, said. "As a result of his unwavering commitment to diabetes and cardiovascular disease research and clinical care, so many have benefitted from his successes and accomplishments, including ourselves, but most importantly patients living with diabetes." Congratulations to Dr. Kosiborod on this prestigious recognition! #TeamSaintLukes 💙

As part of our commitment to community benefit, Saint Luke's Population Health recently donated funds to Center of Grace to renovate their outdoor space. Last week, the new space officially opened to the public! Center of Grace's mission is to offer a hospitality space in Olathe with programs for health care, education, growth, and more. It also shares a campus with the Olathe Boys & Girls Club. The community benefit funds were used to create activity stations for sports, exercise, and social gathering areas. We hope families will have a fun summer at the new playground. ⛹️ 🤸 🥅

Several Saint Luke’s physicians, fellows, and residents recently attended the Digestive Disease Week Conference. 18 research projects authored by Saint Luke's clinicians were accepted for presentation. Digestive Disease Week is the largest and most prestigious international meeting of gastroenterologists, hepatologists, and GI surgeons. Pictured below are Dr. John Campbell, a poster of distinction recipient, and Dr. Helzberg and Dr. Alsakarneh, whose presentation was selected for a poster tour.