Branson CoxHealth clinic to host family medicine residency program

CoxHealth’s new family medicine residency program is underway today in Branson at a newly renovated clinic on Highway 248.

The Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce & Convention and Visitors Bureau held a June 29 ribbon-cutting ceremony to commemorate the primary care clinic’s welcoming of the new program and its inaugural class of four residents, according to a news release. It’s the second family medicine residency program for CoxHealth, as its first was established in 1987, according to its website.

Officials say the program’s community-focused curriculum is designed to prepare physicians for full-spectrum family practice as they gain experience in both outpatient and inpatient settings.

In a video of the ribbon cutting at the 890 Highway 248 clinic posted on the Branson chamber’s Facebook page, William Mahoney, president of Cox Medical Center Branson and senior vice president of the community hospital group at CoxHealth, spoke about the training opportunities of the program. 

“This program is here so that we can bring family practice physicians into the community to train, and also hopefully to be able to keep some of them for the future to improve access for you and your families and improve your health,” he said.

The class members for the Branson program are Blake Bassett, Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine; Madeline LaMartina, New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine; Cassandra Sturdy, Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine; and Clayton Tindell, Kansas City University College of Osteopathic Medicine. The four began work at the clinic today.

Dr. Andi Selby, who leads the inaugural program and is based at the Highway 248 clinic, said in the video that the Branson program will annually receive four residents, who will work at the clinic for three years.

“They are family medicine doctors, so they will see newborn babies, elderly patients and everything in between. We’ll also be doing obstetrical care, too,” Selby said. “And you’ll also see their faces in the hospital as they’re doing rotations, learning more about the community and the medicine we can offer here in Branson.”

In addition to the roughly 25,000 square feet of clinical space, which includes 12 exam rooms and two procedure rooms, an additional 10,000 square feet on the lower level of the Highway 248 building is dedicated to the residency program’s administrative offices and classrooms, according to the release. The integrated design creates a collaborative environment where education and patient care are under one roof, officials say.

Janell Patton, community relations manager with CoxHealth, declined to disclose renovation costs for the clinic. She said the lower level of the clinic was previously home to CoxHealth Branson Prosthetics & Orthotics, which moved last year to 121 Cahill Road, Ste. 205.

The start of CoxHealth’s newest residency program comes as Mercy Springfield Communities recently announced plans to launch its first graduate medical education program, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting. 

Mercy’s new program is set to debut in summer 2027, with plans to establish at least 160 residency and fellowship positions by 2032, according to officials. It will start with an internal medicine residency, which officials expect will have 75 slots available within five years.