Each fall Ingram’s editorial team works hard to refine our business strategy and develop the
editorial plan for the upcoming year. Like most media we’re provided lots of “good ideas” and “exclusive opportunities” to explore and showcase successful individuals and organizations in business and industry.

Unlike some media, however, we try hard to remain objective and report realistically. The goal of our editorial coverage is to advance the economic development and well being of the community in a responsible fashion, not to promote the well being of a specific business or person.

One industry we try to cover appropriately is health care. Although we have been challenged to recruit support from several of the dominant players in these related industries, we remain committed to covering the larger cause by producing the Special Medical Edition each year. This issue is designed to recognize the area’s most respected doctors and to explore trends, issues and opportunities in the medical arena within the region. We do not control where those doctors come from nor do we control the trends upon which we report.

The front cover of this year’s Medical Edition and feature introduces HCA CEO and Chairman Jack Bovender, Jr. and COO/President Richard Bracken. While we remain sensitive to the fact that HCA’s acquisition of Health Midwest has not been fully approved, and may not be for a few months, we think it’s important to point out that, barring the unforeseen, HCA’s acquisition will represent the most significant single investment of new capital into Kansas City than any other in the city’s history.

In recent years HCA has shored up its foundations to become the dominant health care player in Denver, Houston, Dallas, and the Tampa Bay area among other markets. While Health Midwest has done a good job assembling 14 of the KC area’s top hospitals into a viable system, the organization’s sale to HCA puts these properties into the responsible hands of the leading for-profit hospital operator in the nation and America’s second largest health system of any kind.

What does the competition between a for-profit system and its not-for profit rivals status mean for health care services in the region? We believe that, for one thing, it should mean better health care.

Health Midwest has always competed against other hospitals and systems. The fact that it now represents a different economic philosophy should, if anything, sharpen the focus and force all competitors to perform at their best.

As much as we at Ingram’s are an advocate for home grown business ownership, we also understand that a serious outside investment was needed to improve medical care in the area. When HCA’s effort to acquire Health Midwest is approved, we will soon see how the added resources of this major national corporation can affect our community’s health and the economic vitality of the Kansas City area.

When given the chance to get to know Jack Bovender, Jr., Richard Bracken and HCA’s management team, Kansas Citians will likely agree that the future of health care and the Life Sciences movement in the region remains in very good hands.

Sincerely,