The joint venture expands advanced care in Southwest Missouri
St. Louis Children's at CoxHealth is expanding regional access to advanced pediatric care for families across southwest Missouri through a joint venture that includes a new pediatric hospital and a planned pediatric specialty care center.
Matthew N. Alder, MD, PhD,
WashU Medicine physicians, together with St. Louis Children's at CoxHealth providers, will coordinate and deliver inpatient and subspecialty care, ensuring children who require a higher level of care can receive it closer to home.
The joint venture will also enhance coordinated pediatric care by supporting referring providers with connections to subspecialists, seamless communication, continuity of care, and better outcomes for their patients.
Expanding pediatric subspecialty access in the region
A new pediatric hospital on the campus of CoxHealth Medical Center South in Springfield, Missouri, opened March 1. It is the only independently licensed, full-service pediatric hospital in southwest Missouri and offers nationally recognized care from WashU Medicine physicians.
Clinical capabilities include:
- An advanced neonatal intensive care unit (NICU)
- A pediatric intensive care unit (PICU)
- Dedicated inpatient pediatric services
A 133,000-square-foot children’s specialty care center is scheduled to open in summer 2027. The new facility, which will be constructed on the Cox South campus, will further expand outpatient services and referral pathways for pediatric patients. St. Louis Children’s at CoxHealth Specialty Care Center will be the largest pediatric-focused outpatient facility in Springfield.
Services will include:
- Ambulatory surgery
- Imaging and laboratory services
- Infusion services
- Pediatric subspecialty clinics, including cardiology, hematology, oncology, ophthalmology, surgery, and urology
- Therapy and audiology
Physicians staffing the hospital and the future specialty care center include WashU Medicine pediatric surgeons, neonatologists, intensivists, and other pediatric subspecialists working alongside St. Louis Children’s at CoxHealth nurses, pharmacists, and therapists trained specifically in pediatric care.
Pediatric leadership for the new hospital
Matthew N. Alder, MD, PhD, a board-certified pediatric critical care physician, has been appointed the inaugural pediatrician-in-chief and chief medical officer of St. Louis Children’s at CoxHealth. He also serves as a WashU Medicine voluntary clinical professor of pediatrics. His clinical expertise includes mechanical ventilation, advanced hemodynamic monitoring, extracorporeal support modalities, and leadership in resuscitation.
- Alder earned both his medical degree and doctorate in immunology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and completed residency training in pediatrics and fellowship training in pediatric critical care medicine at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
- He served as an academic physician and investigator at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.
- He previously served as an attending physician in pediatric critical care medicine at Cox Medical Center South.
Children's Direct is your one-stop communication hub for pediatric hospital support in Southwest Missouri. Contact the 24/7 physician access line at 800-678-HELP (4357) or [email protected] to:
- Admit a patient
- Transport a patient
- Schedule an appointment
- Consult with attending physicians
- Request information
