2015 Business Class Honoree: CoxHealth

Advancement in medical technology is occurring at a breathtaking pace. CoxHealth CEO Steve Edwards refers to the current period in health care as a renaissance. “There is an amazing amount of sophistication happening in health care,” he says.

CoxHealth has incorporated medical innovation into its world-class patient care by being progressive in predicting trends and positioning itself to respond quickly.

While new services and construction continues to expand the system and its range of care, collaboration keeps costs in check for both the hospital and its patients.

Edwards says one of the biggest advancements for CoxHealth in the past year is the integration of the former Skaggs Hospital, now Cox Medical Center Branson. “You’re joining two cultures that have been around for decades and decades,” he says. “In the past year in particular, we have really gotten the relationship wired together.”

In addition to hiring 27 physicians in Branson, Cox added an emergency room department and critical care unit, and “shelf space” for growth, Edwards says.

“The ER is now open. Our plan was to make sure we got it open by summertime,” he says. “In Branson, as you can imagine, the ER is twice as busy in the summer as it is in the winter.”

Other construction projects include renovation of CoxHealth’s Monett emergency department and expansion of Cox South and its 10-story patient tower.

“The last tower we built was in 1985,” Edwards says. “You build these big towers not for the next quarter or the next two years. You’re looking out 20, 30, 40 years.”

New services include CoxHealth MedicarePlus, a partnership with St. Louis-based Essence Healthcare that provides comprehensive, affordable health care coverage to Medicare beneficiaries in the area.

“We anticipated that to start somewhat small, around 1,600 covered lives with a best-case scenario of 2,600. We got 5,600, so it was a tremendous first response,” he says.

CoxHealth has numerous other partnerships on deck. A partnership with St. Louis Children’s Hospital brings world-class pediatric surgeons to Springfield. The BJC Collaborative unites CoxHealth with health care systems in Missouri and Illinois to purchase supplies in bulk, saving about $50 million last year. An agreement between CoxHealth and Legal Services of Southern Missouri assists patients with legal issues.

“When someone is in the hospital, they have a lot of vulnerabilities,” Edwards says.

Often, an attorney can facilitate better care and negotiate issues.

CoxHealth has been lauded with multiple awards recognizing its leadership in the health care industry. Edwards says the awards are appreciated but staff isn’t motivated by plaques on the wall.

 “They want to make sure the patients they are caring for get good outcomes. What these awards mean to us is we are doing our jobs,” he says.[[In-content Ad]]