Our History

SERVING KANSAS CITY SINCE 1881

The Jackson County Medical Society was founded in 1881 by physicians concerned with professional ethics and medical education. Over the years, the Medical Society has taken a leadership role in many community health issues including the fight against contaminated food and dairy products in the early 1900s. The Medical Society was instrumental in the founding of the Community Blood Bank in the 1950s and Medical Society leaders were among the founders of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City in the 1930s. We remain interested in public health issues, with some of the most recent examples including Tobacco 21 legislation and Medicaid expansion.

In the 2000s, the Jackson County Medical Society joined with medical societies in Clay and Platte counties to become the Metropolitan Medical Society of Kansas City (Metromed), later changed to Kansas City Medical Society. Effective January 1, 2018, the Wyandotte and Johnson County Medical Society in Kansas merged with the Kansas City Medical Society, becoming one combined force for medicine across the entire Kansas City region. The new Kansas City Medical Society recognizes that our physicians live and serve patients in both states—and that we face common issues regardless of which side of State Line Road on which we are located.