How Hospitals Are Licensed and Run in Missouri

Missouri's hospitals range from large urban medical campuses to small county hospitals that anchor an entire town. Before you choose one, it helps to know who oversees it and what kind of facility it is. That knowledge saves time when someone is sick and every phone call counts.

Acute-care hospitals in the state are licensed by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) under Chapter 197 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri. DHSS also designates hospitals for stroke, heart attack and trauma care through its Time-Critical Diagnosis system. Ambulance crews use that system to decide where to take a patient. Hospitals that bill Medicare or Medicaid must also meet federal standards.

State-run psychiatric hospitals follow a different path. They are operated by the Missouri Department of Mental Health, which runs Fulton State Hospital in Callaway County, Southeast Missouri Mental Health Center in Farmington, and Metropolitan St. Louis Psychiatric Center on Delmar Boulevard. Many patients arrive through court orders or referrals from community providers rather than walking in. Involuntary mental health detention and commitment are governed by Chapter 632 of the state statutes.

Four kinds of facility appear in this directory, and the differences matter when you are choosing where to call:

Calling the wrong type of facility wastes time. A rehabilitation hospital will not treat a heart attack, and a psychiatric hospital is not a substitute for an emergency room. When in doubt, phone the main number and ask which department handles your situation.

New hospitals and major expansions also go through the Missouri Health Facilities Review Committee under the state's certificate of need law. That is a planning rule rather than something patients deal with directly, but it is one reason the hospital map changes slowly.

Metro Hospitals in St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri

The St. Louis area holds the largest cluster of hospitals in the state. St. Louis County has more listings than any other county in our database. They include St. Luke's Hospital at 232 South Woods Mill Road in Chesterfield, SSM Rehabilitation Hospital at 12380 De Paul Drive in Bridgeton, and SSM Rehabilitation Hospital at St. Mary's Health Center on Bellevue Avenue in Richmond Heights.

One local quirk trips people up. The City of St. Louis is independent of St. Louis County and has its own government. Some St. Louis addresses fall inside the city and others inside the county. Check the full street address before you plan a route or a visit.

On the west side of the state, Kansas City spreads across several counties. Our records sometimes show the city simply as "Kansas," so search by the street address too. Jackson County includes Center For Behavioral Medicine at 1000 East 24th Street and Lee's Summit Medical Center at 2100 Southeast Blue Parkway. North Kansas City Hospital sits north of the Missouri River at 2800 Clay Edwards Drive in Clay County.

Kansas City, Missouri lies on the state line. Kansas City, Kansas is a separate city in a different state, with its own licensing agency and Medicaid program. If your insurance or Medicaid coverage is tied to Missouri, confirm which side of the line a hospital is on.

Both metro areas have several competing health systems. Insurance networks differ from one system to the next, so confirm that your plan covers a hospital for planned care. In an emergency, go to the closest emergency room and sort out the network questions afterward.

Regional Hubs: Springfield, Joplin, Columbia and Southeast Missouri

Outside the two big metros, a handful of regional hospitals serve as referral centers for dozens of smaller towns. Springfield is the main medical hub for the southwest Missouri Ozarks. In Greene County, Cox Medical Centers North Hospital at 1423 North Jefferson Avenue is one of several large hospitals, and patients travel from surrounding counties for specialty care.

Joplin, in Jasper County, has a hospital landscape shaped by the May 22, 2011 tornado, which destroyed St. John's Regional Medical Center. Care in the area has since been rebuilt. Mercy Emergency Department - Joplin at 2817 Saint Johns Boulevard is one of the emergency entry points listed for the city.

Columbia sits on Interstate 70 between St. Louis and Kansas City and draws patients from across central Missouri. Boone Hospital Center at 1600 East Broadway is a listed general hospital there. People in the mid-Missouri counties often make the drive to Columbia for surgery or specialist visits rather than going to a local hospital.

In the southeast, Southeasthealth at 1701 Lacey Street in Cape Girardeau and Black River Community Medical Center at 225 Physicians Park in Poplar Bluff serve wide rural areas. In the northeast, Northeast Regional Medical Center at 1607 South Baltimore Street in Kirksville serves Adair County and its neighbors. In the northwest, Mosaic Life Care at St. Joseph at 5325 Faraon Street serves the St. Joseph area, though our records file it under Andrew County.

Tourist areas add another wrinkle. Skaggs Community Health Center at 221 Skaggs Road serves Branson and Taney County, where the population swells during the visitor season. The Lake of the Ozarks area has its own listings, including Osage Beach Center For Cognitive Disorders on Passover Road. If you are visiting, bring your insurance card and a list of your medications.

Small-Town Hospitals Across Rural Missouri

Much of Missouri is rural, and a small hospital may be the only one within thirty miles or more. Cedar County Memorial Hospital at 1401 South Park Street in El Dorado Springs, Ellett Memorial Hospital at 610 North Ohio Street in Appleton, and Northwest Medical Center at 705 College Street in Albany are examples. SunLink Health Systems is listed at 1200 North 1 Mile Road in Dexter, though that listing carries a 770 area code from outside Missouri. Call the local hospital switchboard to confirm hours and services.

Small hospitals typically handle emergencies, basic inpatient care, imaging and lab work. They stabilize serious cases and then transfer patients to a larger center for advanced surgery, trauma or intensive care. That is normal and not a sign of poor care. It is also why a call to 911 beats a private car for chest pain, stroke symptoms or severe injury, since paramedics can start treatment on the way and choose the right destination.

For planned care in a rural area, ask three things before you go: whether the hospital accepts your insurance, whether the service you need is offered on site, and which larger hospital it usually refers to. Those answers will tell you whether to expect a short trip or a long one.

Hospitals across Missouri provide a full range of medical services from emergency and trauma care to specialized treatment programs, with public and nonprofit facilities playing a particularly important role in serving uninsured and rural populations throughout the state.

Hospitals locations are available in 102 cities across Missouri. They are spread across 72 counties.

Cities with the highest concentration include St. Louis, Kansas, Springfield, which serve as major medical centers with academic teaching hospitals, trauma centers, and specialized treatment facilities for the surrounding region.

Residents of Missouri should know their nearest emergency room location before a medical crisis occurs, and should check their insurance network to understand which hospitals in the state are covered under their plan.

Hospitals by Counties

A
B
C
D
F
G
H
I
J
L
M
N
P
R
S
T
V
W

Residents of Missouri who face large hospital bills should ask about financial assistance programs before the bill goes to collections. Most hospitals are required to notify patients about charity care options, and applications can often be submitted months after a visit.

Browse Hospitals by county across Missouri to find the nearest location.

Paying for Hospital Care in Missouri

Hospital bills confuse almost everyone, but a few Missouri and federal rules give you real leverage. Federal law requires hospitals to post their standard charges online. Nonprofit hospitals must also keep a written financial assistance policy, and you can ask for a copy at the billing office. Ask about it before you pay a large bill, not after it goes to collections.

For people without private insurance, MO HealthNet is the state's Medicaid program. Missouri voters approved Medicaid expansion in 2020, and coverage for working-age adults with low incomes began in 2021. Applications are handled by the Family Support Division of the Missouri Department of Social Services, online, by phone or at a local office. Hospitals often have financial counselors who can help you apply while you are still a patient.

Always ask for an itemized bill. Check it against your insurer's explanation of benefits, and look for duplicate charges or services you did not receive. Since 2022, the federal No Surprises Act has protected most patients from out-of-network bills for emergency care. If a bill looks wrong, call the hospital's billing department first and write down the date, the name of the person you spoke to, and what was promised.

Bring a photo ID, your insurance card, a current medication list and the name of your regular doctor to any non-emergency visit. For a child, bring immunization records and a parent or guardian with legal authority to consent.

Browse this directory by city or county and match the street address to where you are. Listings such as Boone Hospital Center in Columbia, Cox Medical Centers North Hospital in Springfield and Mercy Emergency Department - Joplin include phone numbers. In a true emergency, call 911 rather than driving yourself. Dispatchers and paramedics know which nearby hospitals can handle stroke, heart attack or trauma, and they may bypass the closest building for a better-equipped one. Save the number of your nearest hospital in your phone for non-urgent questions.

No. The federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act requires hospitals with emergency departments to give a medical screening exam and stabilizing treatment to anyone who arrives, regardless of insurance or ability to pay. That duty applies to small rural hospitals as well as big city medical centers. It covers emergencies, not routine follow-up care. After you are stabilized, ask for the financial counselor and request the hospital's financial assistance application before you leave or as soon as you get home.

Apply through the Family Support Division of the Missouri Department of Social Services, which determines eligibility. You can apply online, by phone or in person at a local office. Adults are generally eligible when household income is at or below about 138 percent of the federal poverty level, and children and pregnant women have separate income limits. Have proof of identity, income and Missouri residency ready. Many hospitals employ staff who help patients complete the application, so ask at registration or at the billing office.

Contact the hospital's health information management or medical records department, often called HIM. You will usually sign a written authorization and show photo ID. Under the federal HIPAA rule, a hospital generally must respond to a records request within 30 days. Hospitals may charge a reasonable cost-based fee for copies, and electronic copies are often the cheapest option. If you are requesting records for someone else, such as a parent or spouse, bring documents showing your legal authority to do so.

For an immediate crisis, call or text 988, the national Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or call 911 if someone is in danger. Behavioral health hospitals in our listings include Center For Behavioral Medicine in Kansas City (816-512-7477) and Heartland Behavioral Health Services in Nevada (800-654-9605). The Missouri Department of Mental Health operates state hospitals such as Fulton State Hospital and Southeast Missouri Mental Health Center, and its Jefferson City office is listed at 573-751-4122. State hospital admission usually runs through community providers or the courts.

The region is spread out, so distance matters. In Butler County, Black River Community Medical Center at 225 Physicians Park in Poplar Bluff is the main listing, reachable at 573-727-9080. Southeasthealth in Cape Girardeau, at 573-334-4822, serves a larger area along the Mississippi River. Stoddard County has a listing in Dexter, and Southeast Missouri Mental Health Center is in Farmington. Call ahead to confirm which services are offered locally and where patients are referred for specialty care.

Start with the hospital's patient advocate or patient relations office, which can often fix billing errors and service problems quickly. If that does not resolve it, you can file a complaint about care or safety with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, which licenses hospitals and investigates complaints. For problems with a doctor's conduct, the Missouri State Board of Registration for the Healing Arts is the responsible body. Write down dates, names and what happened, and keep copies of any bills or letters you send.