Children's Mercy received national recognition from U.S. News & World Report in 11 pediatric specialties.

They put each other through school; Katharine being the first to get her medical degree while Alice worked as a schoolteacher, and then obtained her dentist degree—both male-only professions during the 19th century.

But the two persevered and, due to their widowed status, they were permitted to control their own finances, which they poured into their medical work with children.

[6] Children's Mercy Hospital was founded in 1897 when Dr. Katharine Berry Richardson, now a surgeon, and her sister Dr. Alice Berry Graham, a dentist, found a crippled, malnourished girl abandoned in the streets of Kansas City, Missouri and treated and cared for her at a rented bed in a hospital.

But as societal norms changed, the ridicule lessened and public opinion allowed the hospital to grow.

Dr. Kate (Katharine Richardson) would keep a sign near the street, letting the public know the needs of the hospital, such as new sheets, pillow cases, bath towels and canned food.

[18] Hospital clinical pharmacologists work closely with the Pediatric Trials Network, researching and developing accurate drug doses and devices for children.

Children's Mercy is an Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education Institutional Sponsor and focuses on the development of programs based on the ACGME core competencies and the acquisition of clinical skills.

[20] In addition, Children's Mercy hosts over 600 residents from partnering institutions in Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Nebraska.

[23] Children's Mercy earned the 2022-2023 Platinum Level Healthy KC Certified from the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce.

The partnership focuses on strengthening the community by improving access to pediatric-trained sports medicine, protecting youth athletes and providing education to coaches and parents.