The Kansas City-area hospital market is mostly a three-way tug of war with a state line thrown in to make things a little more interesting.
The prime hospital competitors are: HCA Midwest Health System, a 10-hospital regional system that is part of Nashville-based HCA; University of Kansas Hospital, Kansas City, Kan.; and St. Luke's Health System, based in Kansas City, Mo., which has eight hospitals out of its 11 in the Kansas City area. Smaller competitors are Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth (Kan.) Health System, with hospitals in Leavenworth and Kansas City, Kan.; and two-hospital Truman Medical Centers, Kansas City, Mo. For pediatric care, there is 263-bed Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics, Kansas City, Mo.