North Kansas City Hospital Appoints Stephen L. Reintjes, Sr., MD, as President and CEO

Jim Braibish • January 3, 2020

North Kansas City Hospital has appointed Stephen L. Reintjes, Sr., MD, as president and chief executive officer of the hospital and its physician network subsidiary, Meritas Health. Dr. Reintjes is expected to succeed current president and CEO Peggy Schmitt in early April when she plans to retire.

Dr. Reintjes, a nationally recognized neurosurgeon and executive leader, is a past president of the Kansas City Medical Society and a past board member of the Missouri State Medical Association. A respected and engaged member of the North Kansas City Hospital medical staff for 30 years, Dr. Reintjes has held numerous executive leadership positions at the hospital, including director of spine surgery and medical staff president. In the community, Dr. Reintjes is a board member of BioNexus KC and the Midwest Transplant Network.

North Kansas City Hospital is a longtime partner of the Medical Society and supporter of our charitable care programs, Wy Jo Care and Metro Care, donating hospital services in support of volunteer specialty physician care for uninsured patients.

Said North Kansas City Hospital board of trustees chairperson Rebecca Welbern: “Dr. Reintjes is a proven health care leader at North Kansas City Hospital and across the region’s health care community. He’s been an engaged, trusted physician and colleague for many years. We are confident in his ability to maintain our organizational excellence and unique culture.”

Dr. Reintjes is a graduate of Rockhurst High School, Georgetown University and the University of Kansas School of Medicine, earning his undergraduate and graduate degrees in philosophy and medicine. He completed his residency in neurosurgery at the KU School of Medicine.

“I am honored to have been selected as North Kansas City Hospital’s next CEO. It is a privilege to be part of an organization that delivers personalized, high quality health care,” said Dr. Reintjes. “We are an organization led by a purpose – to provide hope and healing to every life we touch. I will do my best to serve our patients and help our employees and physicians fulfill their passion to make a difference.”

Dr. Reintjes practices neurosurgery with his son, Stephen L. Reintjes, Jr., MD.

North Kansas City Hospital has 451 beds and ranks fourth on the Kansas City Business Journal’s list of the area’s largest acute-care general hospitals, with 20,736 admissions in 2018. Its subsidiary Meritas Health offers primary and specialty care in 30 facilities in Platte and Clay counties.

 

Skyline view of Kansas City, Missouri, including Union Station, with a field in the foreground under a cloudy sky.

Letter from the President 2026

By Micah Flint • December 18, 2025
As we finish 2025, I am humbled and honored to be your incoming Kansas City Medical Society president. I want to thank Dr. Sarah Hon for her leadership and mentorship over the past year, and our executive director, Micah Flint, for his administrative support. Our medical society began with the Jackson County Medical Society in 1881, later merging with Wyandotte and Johnson County Medical Societies to become the bi-state Kansas City Medical Society in 2018. We have led health initiatives including Tobacco 21 legislation, Medicaid expansion, the COVID-19 pandemic, the opioid crisis, and physician wellness. Our society is currently advocating for a speaker’s bureau, promoting suicide awareness at our local hospitals each fall, and leading vaccine education efforts in our community. As we move into 2026, our healthcare environment continues to change rapidly. With new medications and procedures, hospital mergers, EMRs, AI, scope-of-practice changes, hospitalists, and the rise of employed physicians, there are many challenges but also opportunities to lead in our healthcare communities. We must support one another to thrive and flourish. I ask that you stay involved and active in our organization as we plan networking and CME activities for 2026. Continue reaching out to colleagues as we learn from one another.

Letter from the President 2025

January 6, 2025
I consider it a sincere honor to serve as president of the Kansas City Medical Society this year. As we look forward to this new year, we celebrate our previous accomplishments and look for new ways to meet the challenges of our ever-changing healthcare environment. As we recognize our recent successes, I want to take the opportunity to thank Dr. Greg Unruh, our immediate past president, for his excellent leadership, and I look forward to his continued partnership, providing much-needed wisdom and experience to our board of directors as well as a leadership council. I am also deeply appreciative of Micah Flint, our executive director, now in his third year with the Society. As a board, we are prioritizing key areas where we believe the Society can make a difference for physicians and the communities we serve. With this in mind, we will continue our focus on wellness, advocacy, and expand our opportunities for in person social and educational gatherings. Our journal connects us in a variety of valuable ways, and we will continue its publication and expand its distribution. Under the directorship of Karole Bradford, the Society’s Foundation continues to do invaluable work. We celebrate those accomplishments and the charitable care they provide to our community’s vulnerable population. We are grateful for our individual members and corporate sponsors and welcome your suggestions of how the Society can best serve physicians and our community. Please mark your calendar for the Society’s upcoming events and consider inviting physician colleagues to join you as we gather to learn and support one another.

2024 Physician Suicide Awareness Campaign

September 18, 2024
Kansas City area hospitals turn out for Physician Suicide Awareness Day: September 17th, 2024