Wichita is a regional center for medical treatment and referral as well as training and research, employing more than 28,000 health care professionals. The region supports 19 acute care and specialty hospitals with approximately 3,000 beds, as well as more than 50 nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Many medical workers and allied staff are educated at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita, which maintains training programs at three local hospitals. The Kansas Health Foundation, based in Wichita, provides funding in the areas of children's health, leadership, and public health.
Wesley Medical Center, a Level I trauma center and the largest emergency department in the state, provides such services as cancer care, child development, radiosurgery, low vision rehabilitation, senior behavioral health, and treatment of sleep disorders. The Robert J. Dole Department of Veterans Affairs Medical & Regional Office, one of the largest in the nation, treats more than 80,000 outpatients each year. Wesley Medical Center, with 504 beds, provides general medical and surgical care as well as cardiology, neurology, pediatric, and trauma care. Via Christi Health System, a teaching institution affiliated with the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita, provides the largest integrated network of health care providers in Kansas, with such specialized services as gerontology, diabetes, epilepsy, and orthopedics. Other Wichita hospitals include Galichia Heart Hospital, Kansas Heart Hospital, Kansas Surgery & Recovery Center, Select Specialty Hospital of Wichita, Wesley Rehabilitation Hospital, and Kansas Spine Hospital, which opened in 2004.
Health Care Information: Via Christi Regional Medical Center, 929 N. St. Francis St., Wichita, KS 67214; telephone (316)268-5000