In early 2009, administrators from Children's Mercy traveled to Panama City to meet with leaders from the Hospital del Niño de Panamá, the largest pediatric hospital in Panama. Children's Mercy and HNP recognized that the prominent roles they play in the clinical care of children in their regions provided an opportunity to combine their knowledge and experience. An agreement was made that the hospitals would partner through the exchange of faculty, staff, and students to encourage the sharing of knowledge and culture, to the benefit of both the hospitals and the patients they serve.

The first Panamanian faculty to visit Kansas City was Dr. Maria Sabina Ah-Chu, a pediatric oncologist, accompanied by a gynecology fellow in 2009. Dr. J.C. Cowden, general pediatrician, and Dr. Molly Uhlenhake, medicine/pediatrics resident, traveled to Panama in the winter of 2009-2010. The relationship between the hospitals continues to grow, with a nurse exchange also planned.