What's going on at CoxHealth: news, events and how to be healthier.

Springfield, MO
Joined January 2009
Life is made up of moments. Some are expected. Others aren’t. When those moments involve your health, having care you trust matters. At CoxHealth, we’re here for the moments that matter most — with the expertise, compassion and commitment our communities count on every day. We've launched a series of new community messages that highlight our role in the moments that matter in the lives of those in our community. Featuring members of our team, these videos are also a heartfelt thank you to our employees, whose work creates moments of comfort, healing and hope for our community. Watch our new Moments That Matter series and see how care shows up across the places we call home.
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Congratulations to our Chief Operating Officer, Amanda Hedgpeth, on her induction into the inaugural Ozark Hall of Excellence! 🐯 On Saturday, Oct. 17, the @OzarkTigers School District Education Foundation honored Hedgpeth as a Distinguished Alumni inductee in its first-ever Hall of Excellence class. She grew up in Ozark and chose to stay, building her career and raising her family right here at home. “To be recognized by the very school system and community that helped shape my life is an incredible honor,” Hedgpeth said. “To be part of the inaugural Hall of Excellence makes it even more special.” Her message to today’s students: “Sometimes the greatest success isn’t measured by how far you go, but by the impact you make wherever you choose to be.” 💙
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Excited to see one of our best on this stage. Check it out! ⬇️
🚦 Let's Talk Workforce Readiness! Join SAHRA on November 19 as Ryan Morris, M.Ed., of CoxHealth explores Beyond Mindset: Putting Psychological Safety into Practice. 📍 DoubleTree Hotel | 11:30 AM–1:00 PM REGISTER TODAY! sahramo.org/event-6841303 #SAHRA #WorkforceReadiness
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Only one first day. That’s what Shanda Mayhew, a registered nurse in outpatient oncology at Hulston Cancer Center, tells patients starting treatment. If they’re scheduled for 12 cycles, she reminds them there’s only one first day, and it will be over before they know it. She also encourages them to count down: “only five left” instead of “I’m on number seven.” “I try to always be positive. It’s how I have been all my life,” Shanda said. Her path to oncology nursing started at the front desk. As a registration specialist at Hulston, she went back to school at 27, and patients cheered her on, asking how her classes and tests were going. “I fell in love with them all and loved ringing that bell,” she said. “All I did was give them a bracelet, but I knew I would love to continue working with them forever.” She became a CNA and worked in the hospital through COVID-19, then came “back home” to outpatient oncology for her last year of nursing school. With support from nurse manager Michelle Jackson and oncology educator Jana Garde, she became the first nurse from our Graduate Nurse Residency Program to begin her career in oncology. That compassion just earned her a Healthcare Hero award from @ozarks_first and @gobrightspeed. Congratulations, Shanda! We’re so proud to have you on our team. 💙
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It’s been a great week so far at Schaible Lake Park. 🌳☀️ As the Safety Partner for Better Block SGF's weeklong activation along Medical Mile, we’ve been spending time outside with our neighbors. Community members have learned CPR, joined Dr. Katie Davenport-Kabonic for Walk with a Doc, and tried the Walking Circuit with CoxHealth’s Meyer Center around the lake. There’s still time to join us: 💪 Walking Circuit with Meyer Center, daily through Oct. 22: a low-impact workout with five exercises at four stops around the lake 🧸 Teddy Bear Clinic with the Child Life team from @STLChildrens at CoxHealth, Oct. 23: kids care for their own teddy bear with kid-friendly medical tools and learn what happens at the doctor’s office The activation runs through Oct. 23. See the full schedule 🔗 spr.ly/6014BHpG3K
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Jacy Bray earns the @CoxHealth Drury Athletics Athlete of the Week! ⭐️ Bray totaled 118 assists and 37 digs across three matches last week, recording two double-doubles. She posted 51 assists and 15 digs against Hillsdale before adding 35 assists and 13 digs in a win over Saginaw Valley State. #WonDrury
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State championships are coming to the Springfield area! 🏆 Missouri’s top high school athletes are competing right here over the next few weeks, and CoxHealth is proud to be MSHSAA’s official healthcare partner and the presenting partner of these championships. Coming up: ⛳ Girls Golf: Oct. 19-20 🎾 Girls Individual Tennis: Oct. 22-24 🎾 Girls Team Tennis: Oct. 29-30 🥎 Fall Softball: Oct. 29-31 Come cheer them on! Learn more: spr.ly/6017BHR7d3
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Christy Gorman took the long way into healthcare, and her patients are better for it. 💙 After a midlife career change, Christy became a certified occupational therapy assistant. She brought with her years of caring for others and getting through her own health challenges. “Because I’m older, I have the advantage of kind of having my own health concerns that I’ve been through," Christy says. "Taking care of others who are sick was not new to me, and that has been very helpful.” She knows recovery is more than physical healing. It also means working through fear, frustration, grief and uncertainty. So before she gets to a therapy plan, she starts with what matters most to each patient. “My approach has always been, ‘What do you feel like you need to do to take care of yourself today?’” When she walks into a room, she pays attention to how a patient is feeling emotionally first. “I know right then that they’re having a bad day or that there’s something going on here. Let’s get that out of the way as much as we can first.” Patients notice that compassion. One shared what Christy did on a difficult morning after a hard night: “Christy reached over to me and just hugged me. She told me to cry all I wanted. It was nice that she let me have my moment, then helped me shower and just listened to me talk.” Thank you, Christy, for leading with heart and for reminding us that healthcare is ultimately about caring for people.
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Four students, four different paths, one shared goal: a career in healthcare. 💙 TheAlliance for Healthcare Education is a partnership between CoxHealth, @MissouriState, @OTCedu and @officialSPS. It guides students from the classroom into the healthcare workforce, starting as early as high school. Meet a few of the students learning at The Alliance: 🩺 Ayden Spotila of Bolivar found her calling while working at a long-term care facility. She’s now studying nursing through Missouri State and hopes to work in the emergency department, med-surg or the ICU. 🦴 Rachael Broniec spent years in orthopedic clinics as a gymnast and soccer player, and she fell in love with the science behind it. Now she’s in Ozarks Tech’s radiography program, training on state-of-the-art imaging equipment. “It has helped me feel more confident in my skills,” she said. 📷 Jaydn Wohlhart came from Illinois after a job-shadowing experience introduced her to radiography. She plans to grow her X-ray skills and may cross-train in CT, MRI or mammography. 📚 Nora Fuller, a junior at Bolivar High School, is working toward an associate degree in bioclinical sciences. “I had my doubts at first,” she said. “But after my first day, I knew I could.” Southwest Missouri needs more healthcare professionals, and these students are ready to answer the call. Interested in learning more? Visit spr.ly/6019BH1IxR
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As a full-time CoxHealth physical therapist, business owner, mom and wife, Mari Moore-Mosby doesn’t have time for poorly designed mugs, so she makes her own. ☕ A Springfield native and former ballet dancer, Mari found physical therapy after a string of dance injuries. She found ceramics around the same time and has been throwing on the wheel for 19 years. Today, she runs our Total Performance Arts program, helping dancers, gymnasts, figure skaters and stage performers prevent and recover from injuries. Through her business, Mudbug Creations, she makes brightly colored, whimsical mugs and plates with thumb rests and ergonomic shapes. This year, she showcased her work at CiderDays, which we were proud to sponsor. 🍎 “Rehab is always more fun if you are able to create something in the process and ceramics is physical enough to develop strength in different ways,” she told us. 🏺 Learn more about Total Performance Arts: spr.ly/6010BH1JIe
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Meet Dr. Field Good, the newest (and strawiest) member of our Lebanon clinic team. 🌻 Our primary care and urgent care team built him for the @LebanonOptimist Club's annual scarecrow fundraiser. Businesses across town take part every fall, and the money raised supports local kids through high school scholarships, a childhood cancer fund and grants for community projects. “Things like this get us out in the community to show that we’re all here to work together, and it takes all of us to take care of our neighbors’ healthcare needs,” said Brooke McElvaney, clinic manager. Care close to home, and a community close to our hearts. Stop by and say hi to Dr. Field Good. He’s right by our front door. 🎃
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As the CoxHealth Ozark clinic manager, Michaela Davis has spent years reassuring families they are in good hands. It wasn’t until her own daughter was admitted to the @STLChildrens at CoxHealth NICU that she experienced firsthand what those words truly meant. “As an employee, you’re always telling families they’re in the best place possible,” Michaela says. “Experiencing that care myself as a parent gave those words a whole new meaning.” Their daughter arrived right on time, but unexpected breathing complications quickly changed the family’s plans, leading to a stay in the NICU. “You go in with this whole grand plan of how you’re going to have a baby and bring them home ... and that gets ripped away from you,” Michaela says. “You see your baby go to the NICU, and it’s hard.” Each evening, Michaela faced one of the hardest parts of the journey: walking out of the NICU without her daughter. “I know that when I leave her the nurses are great. They call me all the time with cute little updates of what she’s doing. They make it fun, and they decorate her bed with a different theme every day.” The time spent in the NICU has also unveiled the behind-the-scenes moments Michaela didn’t always see as an employee. “As an employee, I understood the care we provide. As a parent, I saw all the extra things families don’t always see, the thoughtful details, the constant communication and the teamwork happening behind the scenes,” says Michaela. “There are nurses, @washumedicine physicians, nurse practitioners and respiratory therapists — all of these departments are involved in one little patient,” she says. “They love her like she’s their own.” Michaela says the collaboration with St. Louis Children’s at CoxHealth, powered by the medical expertise of WashU Medicine, gave her confidence that every possible resource was being considered. “They weren’t just treating her. They were advocating for her,” she says. Their daughter spent about a month in the NICU at St. Louis Children’s at CoxHealth before going home. As their family settles into life as a family of four, Michaela says one lesson stands above the rest: “You simply can’t go through a journey like this alone. Whether you’re a parent or a caregiver, it’s important to lean on the people around you and accept the support that’s offered,” she says. “Some of the people who helped us most were the families sitting just a few doors away, facing challenges of their own. Those connections reminded us we weren’t alone, and that made all the difference.”
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Congratulations to our Cox Medical Center South stroke team! 🎉 For the first time, Cox South has earned the @American_Heart Association's Get With The Guidelines®️ Advanced Therapy designation. It recognizes excellence in timely thrombectomy care, and very few hospitals earn it. ❤️ It's part of one of the highest combinations of recognition a stroke program can receive: Stroke Gold Plus with Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus, Advanced Therapy and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll. Stroke teams across CoxHealth were honored, too: 💙 Cox Barton County Hospital: Stroke Gold Plus with Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll; Rural Stroke Gold 💙 Cox Medical Center Branson: Stroke Gold Plus with Target: Stroke Honor Roll and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll; Rural Stroke Gold 💙 Cox Monett Hospital: Stroke Gold Plus with Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll; Rural Stroke Gold Meet some of the teams behind the awards 👇 Congratulations to the nurses, physicians, EMS crews, technologists, pharmacists and coordinators across CoxHealth! Know the signs of stroke, and call 911 right away.
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Russ Scanlan wasn't looking for a career in emergency medical services when he drove past a fire station open house years ago. Something told him to turn back. "I caught the bug," he says. "That was really what I wanted to do." Today, decades after that U-turn, Russ is beginning a new chapter as CoxHealth's director of Pre-Hospital Services, helping lead roughly 400 employees serving communities across the region. The lesson that has guided him: Never allow the demands of the job to make you lose sight of the person in front of you. "We may not have all the answers," says Russ, "but at least we're going to listen to them and try." Congratulations, Russ! 🚑
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Romeo and Kat can't stroll far before someone stops them. "Romeo!" He's a certified therapy cat who visits CoxHealth regularly, and he's a bit of a celebrity. But his story started several years ago, in Kat's lap. When Kat was diagnosed with breast cancer, she needed radiation every single day. And every day when she got home, Romeo, then just a kitten, wouldn't leave her side. "He kind of told me he'd be a therapy kitty." After reaching out to Pet Therapy of the Ozarks, Romeo started training... the same therapy certification as dogs, including seven stations and two separate evaluations. He passed with flying colors and has been an officially certified therapy cat for two years. His little brother, Lamb, recently certified, has started visiting CoxHealth, too. A friendly face with whiskers can make a hospital feel a little more like home. Kat says she heads home from every visit with the same thought: "This was the most wonderful day. We made so many people smile." 🐾
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Big news: our CoxHealth Family Medicine Residency earned Initial Osteopathic Recognition from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) on its first application. 🎉 The recognition reflects our dedicated training in osteopathic medicine, including osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT). It's a hands-on option for concerns like back pain, neck pain and headaches, offered alongside other treatments when it's the right fit. Every resident in our program, MD or DO, can learn these techniques. Many of our graduates stay to practice here, bringing more options to patients in our community. "It's just one more thing we can do to help people. It's not either/or. It's working together." — Eric Lesh, DO, Director of Osteopathic Education Congratulations to our residents, faculty and staff! 💙
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Katharina Scherb earns the @CoxHealth Drury Athletics Athlete of the Week! ⭐️ Scherb led the Panthers at the Prairie State Cup, claiming the individual title in 1:03:29 and helping Drury earn the team title. The freshman’s mark ranks fourth in program history. #WonDrury
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Since the launch of St. Louis Children's at CoxHealth, we have been reaching new heights for our community. This morning, we marked one of the biggest: a topping out ceremony that placed the final beam on the Children's Specialty Care Center. Before the final beam went up, community partners and leaders signed their names on it. Those signatures will stay with the building for good, inside a 133,000-square-foot home for kids' care in the Ozarks. Sarah Becker, VP and Administrator of St. Louis Children's at CoxHealth, said the day was about "something bigger than the placement of a steel beam." "We're creating a destination where families can access expert pediatric care in their own community," she said. For @washumedicine's Dr. Matthew Alder, Pediatrician-in-Chief and Chief Medical Officer, St. Louis Children’s at CoxHealth, the reason is simple: "This is what doing what's right for kids looks like." @CityofSgf Mayor Jeff Schrag called the project a significant commitment by CoxHealth and @STLChildrens to the future of southwest Missouri. Dr. Matthew Stinson of @JValleyHealth added, "This investment means that the future of pediatric health care in the Ozarks is brighter than ever." Then the crane lifted, and the final beam rose into place. 🏗️ Opening summer 2027: world-class pediatric care, right here at home. 💙
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What a morning! ☀️ CoxHealth was proud to host this month's Good Morning, Springfield!, the @SGFChamber monthly event, at The Meyer Center. Hundreds joined us for breakfast and the State of the County with @GreeneCountyMO Presiding Commissioner Bob Dixon. Commissioner Dixon spoke about the Meyer family and the importance of having a vision for people you may never meet. For us, that's what St. Louis Children's at CoxHealth is all about. Until now, a child in our region who needed specialized care often had to travel far from home, which disrupted life for the whole family. Through our collaboration with St. Louis Children's Hospital, supported by WashU Medicine, that care is coming closer to home. Commissioner Dixon added: "Families in southwest Missouri are facing a very different reality now. This is a major milestone for this community." Sarah Becker, VP and administrator of St. Louis Children's at CoxHealth: "While we're proud of the building that's going up, we're most proud of how we're fulfilling a promise to southwest Missouri." Attendees also signed the final beam, which goes up tomorrow at Topping Out! 🏗️💙
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