Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City Auxiliary
Saint Luke's Hospital of Kansas City Auxiliary has been impacting the lives of Saint Luke's Hospital of Kansas City patients and staff through its commitment to patient care and by providing support through many programs, such as:
- Supporting future nurses through the Jeanine Koger Scholarship, awarded to one Saint Luke’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Rockhurst University student each semester
- Managing Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City Gift Shop
- Volunteering at Saint Luke’s Hospital and Saint Luke's South Hospital Gift Shops
- Volunteering at Saint Luke's Hospital surgical waiting room
- Donating annually to Saint Luke’s Hospital The Children’s SPOT
- Sponsoring the Plaza 10k benefitting Saint Luke’s Home Care & Hospice
- Donating annually to Saint Luke’s Breast Centers
- Hosting Auxiliary luncheons in May and December for members and hospital administrators
- Other areas as needed
Fundraisers
- Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City and Saint Luke’s South Gift Shops
- Holly Ball: Mrs. Robert M. Wagstaff (Kitty) founded the first Holly Ball as a major program fundraiser at Saint Luke’s Hospital in 1964; the last biennial Holly Ball was held in 2018, when it raised more than $120,000 for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Annual events
- Spring and holiday luncheons
- Spring and fall general membership meetings
- Saint Luke’s Day in October
Scholarship Program
Jeanine Koger Auxiliary Scholarship
Saint Luke’s Hospital Auxiliary awards one scholarship each semester to an incoming junior at Saint Luke’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Rockhurst University. The Jeanine Koger Auxiliary Scholarship is based on academic achievement (3.5 or above GPA in required prerequisite general education courses).
The scholarship pays half of their tuition for the last two years of nursing school. Financial need is not a criterion. For more information, please contact Rockhurst Admissions at admissions@rockhurst.edu or 816-501-4100.
Become an Auxiliary Member
Active Members
Active Members pay annual dues of $35. They may hold an elected or appointed office within the Auxiliary, attend two annual socials or luncheons, attend fall and spring general membership meetings, and receive two newsletters a year. They also have opportunities to volunteer in Saint Luke’s Hospital or Saint Luke’s South Hospital Gift Shops or Saint Luke’s Hospital surgical waiting room. Members are encouraged to give at least 24 days per year of service or equivalent by assisting the Auxiliary. For example, a shift in one of the Gift Shops is usually three hours. A member may volunteer for a minimum of two shifts per month.
Life Members
Life Members are composed of persons wishing to express a special interest in the Auxiliary by making a monetary contribution. After three years of active service, one may become a Life Member at $300. This payment may be made in three annual installments of $100. Life Members have the same rights and privileges as Active Members.
Contact
History
Saint Luke’s Hospital Auxiliary was organized in 1908 by a group of dedicated Episcopal women. Bishop Atwill of the Western Diocese of Missouri appealed to the women of the community for an auxiliary “to visit and cheer the sick, to encourage the nurses, and to bring flowers and delicacies.” The women responded with enthusiasm and developed Kansas City’s first Hospital Auxiliary.
Throughout the decades, the Auxiliary has benefited the hospital in many ways, including:
- A gift shop and coffee shop
- Pews, kneeling benches, light fixtures, altar rail, and an organ for the chapel when it opened in 1928
- A circulating library
- Financial contributions to help with nursing scholarships and student loans, helping bring more people into the profession
Today, the Auxiliary continues to support important programs at Saint Luke’s, such as Saint Luke's Hospital of Kansas City The Children's SPOT, Saint Luke's South Goppert Breast Center, Saint Luke’s Home Care & Hospice, and the chapels at Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City and Saint Luke’s South Hospital.
The organization was incorporated under the General Not-For-Profit Corporation Law of Missouri on Sept. 27, 1984. The purpose of the Auxiliary shall be to benefit and promote the charitable, social, scientific, educational, civic, health-related research, and social welfare interests and activities of Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City.