Many Springfieldians know the hospital at the corner of Division Street and Robberson Ave. as Cox North, but for Joyce Schmidt and Melodi McKinney, it was known as a second home when they started their careers.

This week, Joyce is retiring after 30 years, and Melodi is retiring after 46 years of service with CoxHealth.

Melodi McKinney

Melodi started at CoxHealth in 1976, and she’s had many roles in her 46 years at CoxHealth. She first started in radiology keeping track of patient x-rays.

“I was going to college for accounting but left early due to a family situation. I had a friend who was working at Cox North, and she helped me get a job. I wasn’t looking to work in a hospital, in fact, I’m quite squeamish when it comes to blood! That same friend also helped another friend of ours get a job at CoxHealth. They both retired in the past year and I’m the last of the three of us to retire,” says Melodi.

From filing x-rays, Melodi went on to work in the business office as a cashier. It was during that position that Cox South opened up and she moved there for a couple of years before heading back to Cox North.

“Over the years, I’ve done everything from insurance claims to giving tours of the Cox South Emergency Department. CoxHealth is supportive of employees exploring and growing their career within the organization, and I was fortunate to experience a variety of areas without starting over. A few years ago, I felt a desire to go back to my accounting roots and made that transition.”

In 2018, Melodi took a job in the accounting department where she was able to apply her passion of working with numbers.

She never thought that she would be retiring from CoxHealth after 46 years, but she is thankful for the close relationships she has made.

“When I first started, I told myself I’ll only be here a few years, but then I never left. The culture at Cox North and CoxHealth in general is welcoming. I’ve always been grateful about how the organization cares for its employees. In 2005, my husband died, and my coworkers were very supportive of me.”

Melodi says she is ready to retire and spend more time on her hobbies like gardening and running her booth at Mike’s Unique flea market.

“At my core, I know it’s time. I will miss it here but I’m ready to move on to the next adventure. I will say that time goes faster than you expect, but if you keep pursuing what you want to do, it’ll work out.”

Joyce Schmidt

Joyce works as a nurse in our child-adolescent psychology department. Her patients range from 5 to 17 years of age, and she is famous for her vibrant scrubs and slinky hairpiece.

“Its purpose is to make people smile. When younger kids come in, they always comment about it, and I tell a story about the slinky while they play with it. I then begin to learn about the kids in the process and why they’re being admitted.”

Joyce has always had a special heart for helping children. In her personal life, she raised six kids: One she gave birth to and the other five were an adopted sibling set. She says her unique upbringing led to a career in helping children who are experiencing situations they don’t fully understand.

“My parents were missionaries in Nigeria, and I had to attend boarding school. I carried a lot of emotional pain and loneliness when I was there. It was pretty traumatic to be in a foreign country at that age surrounded by strangers,” says Joyce. “The kids I now see as patients have trauma or are in crisis situations, so I use my background and skills I’ve learned over the years in psychology to help them.”

During her time at Cox North, Joyce also attended Cox College to earn her associates degree in nursing. After she graduated, she thought about moving to Cox South to pursue a different role.

“That was a rough transition in my life as well, my house burnt down, and everything was gone. I decided it was best to stay in child psych at Cox North where I felt comfortable. CoxHealth and my coworkers here were very supportive of me during that time,” she says.

Joyce says she loves Cox North from her psych team to the community of colleagues there.

“I’ve known everyone from the janitors to the engineers at Cox North for such a long time. In the psych department, there’s changes in treatment but the team has always been amazing. In my 30 years here, I’ve only had three managers,” says Joyce.

Now in her early 70s, Joyce says that her body is telling her it is time to retire, but she won’t be too far away from CoxHealth.

“My emotions are all over the place, but it is time for me to move on to the next chapter. I'll come back here because I’m still involved in the CoxHealth Auxiliary sewing program, and I enjoy working in the fitness center. I can’t leave cold turkey; Cox North has served as my second home for 30 years.”

Reflecting on her time in child-adolescent psychology, Joyce is thankful to have made an impact in many lives around the region by providing mental health access to children. Below is a story she would share with her patients.

“When I first started, there was a tree at Cox North that was perfectly round and beautiful. It was home to birds and squirrels, and it even produced gumballs. But through the years, the outside of the tree has changed due to ice storms, landscaping and more. With each change, I worried that the tree would not be able to produce enough leaves to progress, but it always did. When you look at it now, and it’s not perfectly symmetrical anymore but it’s doing all the right things it needs to grow. Maybe you’re having a little bump in the road right now, but it doesn’t have to be the end. You can mature and become the person you want to be. Your future is ahead of you, and you can accomplish it even though you may have a few less leaves right now.”

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CoxHealth Colleagues: Two Cox North employees retire with a combined 70+ years of experience in health care

Melodi McKinney

Joyce Schmidt