The UMKC Department of Surgery was established in 1996. General Surgery Residencies have been a long standing part of the Kansas City area for well over 50 years. In the 1990s there were two UMKC associated General Surgery Residencies: one at Truman Medical Center and one at St Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City. These programs merged into one Surgery Residency in 1996 as the UMKC Department of Surgery, under the direction of the first Chairman, Dr L .Beaty Pemberton. UMKC   Department of Surgery currently teaches residents at 2 major hospitals and 3 affiliated hospitals in Kansas City.