When Care Was Color-Coded: The History of KC’s Segregated Health Care System
Hybrid (inperson & Zoom) | Registration opens 8/14/2026 12:00 AM CDT
In the early days of Kansas City’s growth, the city’s hospitals were both segregated and separate as was common at the time. We will explore the people who provided care, the places it was provided, the differences in care and the resistance to change by both black and white Kansas City citizens. Our story ends with how the recommendations of a young accountant in Kansas City’s 1950s budget department triggered dramatic social change in the city's provision of medical services.
Deborah Keating
Deborah Keating has a PhD in History from UMKC and is a Research Assistant