No. 1: Local health care systems strike partnerships in pediatrics, education

In what Springfield health care officials call a first-of-its-kind collaboration to address coverage gaps for pediatric care in the Ozarks, CoxHealth and Mercy Springfield Communities announced a children’s services partnership in November. At a Dec. 13 public listening session, leaders for the agencies say they’re targeting a spring announcement for a yet-to-be-identified third partner in the children’s hospital.

The health systems in mid-November issued a request for proposal to find a full-service pediatric partner. CoxHealth President and CEO Max Buetow said the third entity likely would be an academic institution, adding the health systems are receiving “a lot of responses from nationally recognized organizations” in the month since the RFP process began. Officials have declined to disclose the number or names of those expressing interest, as well as the RFP submission deadline.

Officials say a jointly operated stand-alone children’s hospital is the top goal and has been incorporated into a vision statement for the project. However, health care leaders say it’s too early in the process to discuss potential sites or projected costs for the desired facility.

CoxHealth also is part of the newly formed Alliance for Healthcare Education, which was announced in late August. The health system joined Missouri State University, Ozarks Technical Community College and Springfield Public Schools to form the alliance, which aims to train health care professionals to serve the region.

At the public announcement held at Cox College, leaders of the partner institutions predicted it would be the largest producer of health sciences professionals in the Midwest, improving access to training opportunities while boosting affordability for students. The new institution will ultimately replace Cox College after current students graduate. Leaders of the alliance currently include CoxHealth’s Buetow, Clif Smart, president of MSU; Hal Higdon, chancellor of OTC; and Grenita Lathan, superintendent of SPS. Lathan was chosen in October to be chair of the alliance’s governing board and officials are additionally seeking an executive director. SPS spokesperson Stephen Hall said the hiring target is January.

Approval from the Higher Learning Commission could take a year or more, officials say. If it is granted, Cox College will be absorbed into the alliance and stop accepting students in spring 2025. Its students will be able to spend a year or two to complete their degree program, according to the school’s president, Amy Wutke. OTC will begin administering two-year programs, while MSU will offer four-year and graduate programs.

Cox College faculty and staff will be given priority in hiring as they wind down their teaching obligations in the present program, according to Smart and Higdon. In the spring, Cox College reported 116 employees and 792 students, an enrollment figure down 9% from spring 2022. The college was renovated and expanded six years ago at a cost of $6.8 million, and the alliance will continue to use its 70,000-square-foot space at 1423 N. Jefferson Ave.

The alliance will operate as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation owned by the four leaders of the partner institutions. It will be administered by a governing board made up of the CEOs of each of the entities, plus a fifth community member to be chosen by the other members. Day-to-day decisions will be the responsibility of an operations council of representatives from the four institutions.