Childrens Mercy Hospital

Childrens Mercy Hospital, a tax-exempt non-profit pediatric medical center based in Kansas City, Missouri, operates as a prime recipient of federal research grants and contracts focused on pediatric clinical research, epidemiological studies, and medical innovation, with a secondary presence as a sub-recipient on grants from larger academic and healthcare institutions.

The hospital's federal portfolio centers on pediatric health research and specialized medical services. Recent prime contract and grant work includes a $11.8 million definitive contract with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for epidemiological research on respiratory viral transmission in K-12 schools (completion August 2027); a $6.2 million CDC Broad Agency Announcement contract for studies on respiratory virus epidemiology and vaccine effectiveness in pediatric populations (completed February 2024); a $301 thousand purchase order from the Consumer Product Safety Commission for statistical data collection on consumer product-related injuries running through June 2029; and a $43,200 firm fixed-price purchase order from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for clinical-grade genomic analysis services (completion September 2026). On the federal grant side, the hospital received a $1.5 million Project Grant from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (CFDA 93.213) for a feasibility trial of neurofeedback intervention for pediatric migraine prevention (through August 2028); a $1.4 million Project Grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (CFDA 93.865) examining state safety-net policies and pediatric hospitalizations among low-income families (through July 2030); and a $681,829 Project Grant from NICHD (CFDA 93.865) on parent-of-origin genomic effects in rare disease diagnosis (through April 2030). The hospital also holds a $1.5 million grant from the Department of the Army Medical Command for immunopathogenesis research on nephrotic syndrome (through August 2028).

Customer concentration reflects the hospital's research mission. The top five funding agencies account for approximately 40% of awards by count, anchored by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (46 awards), the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (27 awards), the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (21 awards), the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (20 awards), and the broader National Institutes of Health portfolio (19 awards). By potential dollar value, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Pittsburgh leads with $18.2 million across four awards, followed by the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Award volume has grown substantially: 28 awards in 2022 to 69 in 2024, though FY2025-2026 figures reflect partial-year capture. Twenty-three awards totaling $11.8 million in combined potential value reach ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, creating recompete exposure and opportunity.

The hospital operates as a hybrid prime and sub-recipient. Prime awards account for 54% of recent activity (180 of 336 total awards), while sub-award participation comprises 46% (156 awards). Subcontract work runs beneath major research institutions including Baylor College of Medicine (systems epidemiology of methotrexate neurotoxicity in pediatric acute leukemia), Vanderbilt University Medical Center (influenza vaccine dosing in pediatric transplant recipients), Duke University (immune response characterization and HIV research), the University of Kansas Medical Center Research Institute (clinical trial coordination and genomic medicine research), Washington University (autism spectrum disorder epidemiology via the SEED network and obesity treatment implementation), and The Nemours Foundation (type-1 diabetes management innovation). This reflects the hospital's positioning as both an independent research entity and a key site within larger, coordinated research networks.

SCI-reportable service contract invoicing reached $3.4 million in FY2024 across 3.8 FTEs on prime contracts, with no SCI-reportable activity in FY2022 or FY2023. Government-paid hourly rates on SCI contracts run a median of $489.38/hr, with rates spanning from approximately $205/hr at the 10th percentile to $773/hr at the 90th percentile, reflecting a mix of direct clinical research support, epidemiological data collection, and specialized laboratory services. No named subcontractor hours appear in the SCI dataset, indicating that SCI-reportable prime contracts are staffed primarily through the hospital's direct workforce.

The hospital operates through one named subsidiary, Childrens Mercy-Pediatric Care Specialists, Inc., a tax-exempt not-for-profit entity. Federal award work is carried out across the parent entity and reflects the hospital's integrated research infrastructure, including the Genomic Medicine Center, the Genomic Answers for Kids (GA4K) initiative (a large-scale pediatric rare disease genomics program currently enrolling over 5,500 trios), and specialized clinical research networks in pediatric endocrinology, nephrology, oncology, infectious disease, and critical care. The hospital competes on federal grants primarily under full-and-open solicitations from NIH institutes and centers, CDC, and other HHS agencies, with no identified set-aside designations across the recent award portfolio. Federal procurement partnerships include participation in the NIH extramural research network, the Immune Tolerance Network, the Pediatric Pandemic Network, and the SEED network for autism and developmental delay research, positioning the hospital as a regional and national research site with embedded genomic and clinical trial infrastructure.