CoxHealth breaks ground, shows glimpse of pediatric care center 

A ceremonial groundbreaking marked the start of construction of the planned St. Louis Children’s at CoxHealth Specialty Care Center, slated to open in the summer of 2027. 

CoxHealth officials today released the first publicly shared renderings of the 133,000-square-foot facility, to be located on East Primrose Street, just west of the system’s Ferrell-Duncan Clinic. KCI Construction Co. is serving as construction manager for the project designed by Archimages. 

Ashley Casad, president of Springfield Hospital Group and a senior vice president of operations for CoxHealth, kicked off the ceremony, stating the new facility will bring together ambulatory surgery, pediatric primary care, pediatric specialty care, therapy, infusion, lab and sleep studies, all under one roof. 

“Each of these is critical on its own, but together, they represent something far more powerful: an accessible, coordinated and family-centered approach to taking care of kids, designed to meet children where they are and support them in every stage of their journey,” she said. 

Casad said more than one-third of area children leave the area to receive care, and many families forego care because they are unable to travel. 

She praised the partnership among CoxHealth, St. Louis Children’s Hospital and Washington University in St. Louis for bringing high-quality specialized care “closer to home.” 

Sarah Becker, vice president and administrator of the joint venture, said there are 18 separate work streams dedicated to developing the pediatric hospital-within-a-hospital program and preparing for the March 1 go-live. 

Becker said pediatric care includes special challenges. 

“Caring for our children as they experience complex medical conditions is one of the most difficult and challenging things that we can face as parents and family members,” she said, citing time, expense and lost time at work and school. 

She said the milestone being celebrated is another step toward enhanced collaboration among agencies and care for pediatric patients. 

She said specialties would include pediatric cardiology, hematology/oncology, ophthalmology, pediatric surgery and urology, with more to come. 

Becker also expressed thanks for a $5 million donation from Patricia Hall to support the facility. 

“As one of Springfield’s newest residents, I’ve been amazed by the way that this community is already embracing the partnership that we’re forming here,” she said. 

Dr. Juliane Bubeck-Wardenburg, executive vice chair of pediatrics and chief of pediatric critical care medicine at WashU, said the partnership would connect the children of the community, their families and their current providers with WashU’s research and innovation. 

She added that there is already a strong foundation within CoxHealth. 

“We live in a time now where rapid advances in medicine are being realized, sometimes every single day, and we share the responsibility to bring those to the children of this area,” she said. Bubeck-Wardenburg said the partnership will also aid in recruitment of providers, thus limiting referral delays that many have come to expect in medical care. 

“We will join you, our providers, multidisciplinary teams, CoxHealth leadership and your board and all of the vision that has gone behind today and our joint effort to expand care here in southwest Missouri,” she said. 

Randy Berger, CoxHealth administrative director of corporate communications, said costs and workforce projections are not yet finalized for the facility.