Recognitions
From a Level II neonatal intensive care unit, to award-winning cardiovascular and orthopedic programs, to home health and hospice, North Kansas City Hospital provides a lifetime of care. Our accreditations and recognitions demonstrate our commitment to providing quality healthcare.
America's Best Midsize Employers
Forbes ranks North Kansas City Hospital and Meritas Health as the top midsize hospital and health system employer in Kansas City. Out of 500 companies, the NKCH and MH system is No. 148 on the list of America’s Best Midsize Employers, up 34 spots for 2023. Forbes partners with market research firm Statista to build its list of America’s Best Midsize Employers. Statista surveys approximately 45,000 workers employed by companies with 1,000-5,000 employees. Participants are asked to evaluate employers on key indicators, including diversity, employee compensation, image, opportunities for development and workplace environment.
Best Employers by State 
Forbeshas ranked North Kansas City Hospital and Meritas Health one of the best employers in Missouri three out of the last five years. The health system is No. 16 on the 2024 list of Best Employers by State, climbing four spots from 2023. In July, NKCH and MH were ranked No. 63 nationally on the Forbes Best Employers For Women list. Only 51 hospitals appear on this list of 600 companies. These employers were recognized for placing women in leadership roles, closing the gender wage gap and nurturing a more equitable environment for women.
Best Hospital for Maternity
U.S. News & World Report ranks North Kansas City Hospital among its Best Hospitals for Maternity, with a “High Performing in Maternity Care (Uncomplicated Pregnancy)” rating. The annual survey evaluated 680 hospitals that provide high-quality labor and delivery services for uncomplicated pregnancies. NKCH is one of the only hospitals in Kansas City to receive U.S. News’ highest maternity care honor for 2023 and 2024.
Newsweek’s list of America’s Best Maternity Hospitals 2024. This honor is awarded to 404 hospitals in the United States that provide high-quality maternity care from pregnancy and birth to postpartum care. Newsweek Best Maternity Hospital 2024 Statista, a data and business intelligence portal, compiles the list based on a nationwide online survey of hospital managers and medical professionals and public data from hospital surveys.
Best-in-State Hospital
Newsweek has named North Kansas City Hospital among the Top 3 best-in-state Missouri hospitals in the Kansas City area. Sixteen Missouri hospitals made Newsweek’s Best-in-State 2025 list.
In building the Best-in-State Hospitals 2025 list, Newsweek worked with the market research firm Statista. They used quality metrics from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), data from the AHA Annual Survey of Hospitals Database, findings from HCAHPS patient experience surveys, and responses from a voluntary Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) implementation survey.
Best of the Northland
Voted Best Hospital and Best Emergency Room in The Gladstone Dispatch and Courier-Tribune's 2024 Best of the Northland. Readers cast more than 58,000 ballots in 150 categories as they voted for their favorite people, places and services in the Northland. NKCH and MH were honored in six categories.
Get With the Guidelines
NKCH’s stroke and heart failure programs received six awards and honors from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. These awards recognize NKCH’s efforts to implement quality improvement measures that ensure stroke and cardiovascular patients receive efficient and coordinated care, ultimately leading to more lives saved, shorter recovery times and fewer returns to the hospital.
Healthy KC PLATINUM Certification
(2020-2023) This award, which is the highest achievable, recognizes NKCH’s efforts to support and champion wellness for its employees. In partnership with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce’s Healthy KC initiative evaluates five areas of health and wellness: Nutrition, Physical Activity, Tobacco Cessation, Work-Life Integration and Design-Built Environment.
Healthgrades Specialty Excellence Award - Gastrointestinal Care
(2024) Healthgrades recognized North Kansas City Hospital and Meritas Health with the Healthgrades Gastrointestinal (GI) Care Excellence Award™ and GI Surgery Excellence Award™ for 2024. Hospital quality is evaluated annually in 16 specialty care areas for clinical outcomes. These honors rank NKCH and MH in the top 10% of hospitals nationwide for GI care and GI surgery.
The annual Healthgrades Specialty Excellence Awards™ and Ratings are announced in conjunction with the annual Specialty Excellence Report. More than 45 million Medicare claims are analyzed for mortality and complication rates at approximately 4,500 hospitals. The results are published to help consumers compare quality and identify the best options for their care needs.
Home Health Patient Satisfaction Award
(2022) Strategic Healthcare Programs awarded our Home Health department with the Best Superior Performer award in 2021, naming our agency to the top 20% nationwide in overall patient outcomes and patient satisfaction scores.
NKCH Home Health is the first agency in the Midwest to receive Home Health Heart Failure certification from the American Heart Association.
The certification provides an evidence-based framework for evaluating home health agencies against the American Heart Association’s rigorous science-based standards for heart failure patients, including program management, patient and caregiver education and support, care coordination, clinical management, and quality improvement.
Most Wired Hospital
(2024) The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) certified NKCH and Meritas Health Level 8 in Acute Care and Ambulatory Care. CHIME is an organization supporting healthcare organizations and technology leaders. They support collaboration and the exchange of best practices to improve healthcare. Their annual Digital Health Most Wired survey assesses how effectively healthcare organizations apply core and advanced technologies to their clinical and business programs to improve health and care in their communities. NKCH and MH has been recognized as a Most Wired organization for more than a decade.
National Cardiovascular Data Registry®
Chest Pain - MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award
(2012-2024) For the 12th consecutive year, North Kansas City Hospital received the American College of Cardiology’s National Cardiovascular Data Registry® Chest Pain - MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award. To earn this award, NKCH demonstrated commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients. NKCH also sustained achievement in the Chest Pain - MI Registry for eight consecutive quarters and performed at the top level of standards for specific performance measures. Full participation in the registry engages hospitals in a robust quality improvement process using data to drive improvements in adherence to guideline recommendations and overall quality of care provided to heart attack patients.
U.S. News & World Report - Best Hospitals
(2024) North Kansas City Hospital and Meritas Health achieved High Performing ratings for seven types of care in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals 2024-2025 rankings and ratings. This recognition rewards the health system’s performance in complex care in medical specialties and in common procedures and conditions.