2024 Economic Impact Awards 75+ Years in Business: CoxHealth

CoxHealth is an innovative leader that creates a two-fold health and economic impact. Great businesses need strong education and health care to thrive in any locality, says Cox Medical Group senior vice president of operations Brock Shamel, and CoxHealth’s footprint extends to every area of the region. The nonprofit health system comprises six hospitals, more than 80 clinics and five emergency departments staffed by nearly 14,000 employees. Partnerships with numerous businesses and academic institutions allow the community to rise together.

“When we put our heads together and say, ‘Let’s form something that doesn’t starve another entity to create our professionals,’ it unlocks so much more potential,” Shamel says. “We are also vying for the same thing, for the same revenue dollars from the state, and so how do you come together to promote a mission from a health care standpoint and allow institutions to thrive?”

Shamel said the key to providing the best health care for patients is having the best staff, which made education a priority.

CoxHealth has a “grow our own” philosophy when it comes to the workforce, achieving this goal through robust teaching and development programs. Recruitment of primary care physicians has increased by between 3%-7% each year for the past five years, Shamel says. CoxHealth offers the area’s only family medicine residency program with an approximate 70% retention rate upon completion – higher than the average. One resident creates a $200,000 annual economic impact, doubling after residency.

Cox College bolsters the local workforce as a fully accredited undergraduate and graduate college. The International Nurse Fellowship Program is the first in the country to receive accreditation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center. CoxHealth also offers paid apprenticeships and partners with local colleges and Springfield Public Schools.

Retention must follow recruitment, however, Shamel says. To increase retention, the health system surveyed employees when creating its 2024-25 health benefits plan, resulting in the investment of key adaptations to meet pertinent needs.

“In the end, it became very clear that the investment would more than pay for itself and retain the workforce and people staying in the community,” Shamel says. “The big ‘why’ on that investment is to grow our own and create our future workforce. If we don’t have people to take care of people, it’s hard to accomplish our mission.”

That mission continues to expand as Cox increases local pediatric care, grows primary care, enhances its surgical footprint, constructs new clinics like the ones that recently went up in Springfield and Branson, updates its electronic medical records system and attracts world-class talent.

“We want to be a beacon that people flock to,” Shamel said, “because they want to be part of something in that region.”