CoxHealth announces partnership with St. Louis hospital to improve Ozarks pediatric care
CoxHealth announced it is working with St. Louis Children's Hospital to establish a standalone outpatient pediatric center in Springfield.
The two signed a letter of intent to form a new joint venture, according to a press release. They hope to reach a final agreement by fall.
CoxHealth had previously been working with Mercy Health in an effort to bring additional pediatric care to Springfield. The project was announced in November 2023 but had been in the works for a year before that, according to previous reporting. In March, Mercy announced it was pursuing a partnership with Children's Mercy in Kansas City. The move surprised CoxHealth.
According to a statement from Mercy, CoxHealth's previous relationship with BJC was part of the reason for the local hospital system's alliance breaking. STCH is part of BJC Health System, which has been part of a collaborative with CoxHealth since 2012.
“We wish CoxHealth would have joined us in welcoming the pediatric partner our community clearly voiced was their preference, which is Children’s Mercy Kansas City, the No. 1 children’s hospital in Missouri. We understand that CoxHealth’s existing relationships may not have allowed for that, as that became clear several months ago," the statement said. "Our hope is that all pediatric care models focus on keeping kids in Springfield, which is one of the main reasons we decided to welcome Children’s Mercy Kansas City into our community. At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is enhancing pediatric care for the kids in our community.”
Mercy also said in the statement that if the CoxHealth and BJC partnership "will provide enhanced care for our kids, we see that as a positive if pediatric care is close to home for the residents of Springfield."
"While we are future focused, we would like to clarify: No pre-existing relationships influenced our decision to move forward with this collaboration," CoxHealth said in response to Mercy's statement. "It is disappointing to see the misleading claim that CoxHealth was motivated by anything other than what is best for pediatric patients and their families,"
CoxHealth is aiming to make pediatric care more accessible, advanced and sustainable.
More: What to know about Springfield's pediatric project now that Mercy and Cox collab has ended
"By working together, CoxHealth and SLCH — with the support and expertise of pediatric specialists at Washington University School of Medicine — aim to increase access to world-class pediatric care and create a health care hub for children and families in Springfield, southwest Missouri, and beyond," the press release said.
Washington University pediatric specialists staff SLCH.
“In St. Louis Children’s and Washington University, we are fortunate to have collaborators that are mutually committed to working with us to make Springfield a medical hub for pediatric care,” said Max Buetow, CoxHealth president and CEO. “Today marks an important step in what will be a thoughtful and intentional process to determine how we can improve and expand access to pediatric care for hundreds of thousands of families in this region.”
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: CoxHealth, St. Louis hospital aim to improve Ozarks pediatric care
