Health System Announces New Medical Staff President

(North Kansas City, MO - July 8, 2024) – North Kansas City Hospital and Meritas Health has named Collin Lovitt, DO, as the new medical staff president. Dr. Lovitt began her one-year term July 1. In this role, she acts as a liaison between the medical staff and the hospital system’s administration, chairs the NKCH Medical Executive Committee and provides leadership representation for the more than 550 physicians on staff.

Board-certified in internal medicine, Dr. Lovitt is a hospitalist with Meritas Health Hospitalists and also currently serves on the Emergency Department Subcommittee, Meritas Health Hospitalist Executive Committee, and Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee. Over her more than 12 years with the system, she has held various leadership positions serving as chair of Medical Records, Pharmacy and Therapeutics, and Utilization Review.

“Working with the medical staff and hospital leadership has prepared me well for this opportunity,” Dr. Lovitt said. “The health system’s physicians and hospital administration have built a relationship that is rare in our industry. I look forward to strengthening that connection because it is vital to the patient experience.”

Dr. Lovitt earned her medical degree from Touro University-California College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed her internal medicine residency, for which she was chief resident, at the University of Kansas Hospital. 

Chief Medical Officer Steven Starr, MD, praised Dr. Lovitt’s skills as a clinician and leader. “Collin has played a central role in meeting the needs of the Northland community,” Dr. Starr said. “She is an excellent physician and is devoted to patient care. I am confident she will continue to advocate for provider collaboration and evidence-based patient care.”

Dr. Lovitt succeeds Keenan Berghoff, MD, a bariatric surgeon with the Total Weight Loss Center and a surgeon with Meritas Health Comprehensive Surgery.

About North Kansas City Hospital and Meritas Health

For more than 65 years, North Kansas City Hospital has been the Northland’s preferred healthcare provider. Our mission is to provide hope and healing to every life we touch.

NKCH is an acute care facility with 451 licensed beds and 550 physicians representing 49 medical specialties. From our award-winning cardiovascular and orthopedic programs to our cancer, emergency, neuroscience, spine, women’s and other services, we provide a lifetime of care.

Through our Meritas Health subsidiary, NKCH offers the largest network of provider practices in the Northland, with more than 280 primary and specialty care doctors and advanced practice providers in over 35 convenient locations, including an express care clinic in the 64th Street Hy-Vee store.

Our accreditations demonstrate our commitment to providing quality healthcare, including:

• American Nurses Credentialing Center Magnet® designation
• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services four-star rating
• The Joint Commission Gold Seal of Approval® and certification for Comprehensive Cardiac Center, Advanced Total Hip and Total Knee Replacement, Primary Stroke Center and Wound Care Management Certification

Our mission, vision and values reflect a strong commitment to the health and well-being of our employees, the Northland community and beyond. U.S. News & World Report ranked NKCH High Performing in nine adult procedures and conditions, as well as Maternity Care, and named NKCH a Best Regional Hospital. Forbes honored NKCH as one of America’s Best Midsize Employers in 2023, ranking NKCH and MH a top 20 employer in Missouri, the top midsize hospital and health system in the Kansas City area and No. 148 midsize company in the nation.

Each year NKCH serves more than 12,000 people through its dynamic Community Health & Wellness programs.

Explore NKCH and MH’s full range of services.