St Luke Family of Caring history

St Luke’s Hospice began in 1986 with four patients and a small team of interdisciplinary professionals dedicated to provide comfort care to the terminally ill in the community.

That changed in 1989 with the construction of Saint Luke’s North Hospital—Barry Road and our acquisition of Spelman Memorial Hospital, now Saint Luke's North Hospital—Smithville, in the northern part of Kansas City.

Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City’s Crittenton Children’s Center, which cares for the emotional health of children and families, officially joined the health system in 1992.

In late 2002 as Doctor Heck was recovering from a very sudden and very serious illness, he and Doctor Forester decided to get together with their wives for dinner.

Hedrick Medical Center in Chillicothe, Missouri, joined Saint Luke's in 2003.

St Luke’s Family Practice opened for business on January 1, 2004 at the old office at 1400 Florida Avenue, Suite 109, across the street from Doctor’s Hospital.

With the assistance of John Dunn, Terry Withrow, and influential Washington DC lawyers indirectly financed by the Bright Family Foundation, St Luke’s was finally able to prevail and receive unusual retroactive 501(c)3 status at the end of 2005.

In 2012 SFLP hired a promising physician assistant graduate, Ericka Carranza-Perez PA, who had done much of her clinical training and internship at St Luke’s Family Practice under the supervision of Doctor Heck.

St Luke's opened its eighth urgent care center in 2015.

In 2016, the St Luke's Hospital Heart & Vascular Institute announced its alliance with the Cleveland Clinic Heart, Vascular and Thoracic Institute.