News

Janette Platter is the community chaplain at Saint Luke’s Bishop Spencer Place, a vibrant senior living community just steps from the Country Club Plaza. But in early 2025, she was just another mom seeking the very best care for her child. Fortunately, she knew it wasn’t too far away.

Kirsti Millar, a 35-year-old of Kansas City, was 23 weeks pregnant with her second child in early 2023 when her water suddenly broke. What should have been a season of joy and anticipation became a medical emergency.

Ten years ago, Nina, a Lake Winnebago resident, was diagnosed with a rare form of breast cancer that led to a partial mastectomy followed by radiation treatment at Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City.

After 5-year-old Hildie Platter was diagnosed with selective mutism a year and a half ago, her mother, Janette Platter, turned to The Children's SPOT (Speech, Physical, and Occupational Therapy) for rehabilitative speech services through play therapy.

Now, on the 14th anniversary of her diagnosis, Kelly, 43, is cancer free and grateful for the care she received at Saint Luke's East Hospital in Lee's Summit and Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City.

While the mortality rate for breast cancer in the U.S. has significantly declined from its peak in 1989, incidence among younger women has steadily increased each year since 2001, according to the American Cancer Society.

Ten years ago, Nina Noe's dog supported her along her journey to beat a rare form of breast cancer.

The third full week of September is an annual recognition of National Rehabilitation Awareness Week, celebrating the patient benefits and successes across all therapies.

Saint Luke's Rehabilitation Institute's newest staff member is making an immediate impact on patient care this year. Henli is a two-year old facility dog, highly trained to work in clinical settings alongside licensed therapists.