Direct Line from Max Buetow for 6/28/2024

June 28, 2024

Celebrating Missouri State University President Clif Smart

This week, I attended the retirement reception for a man who defines what it means to be a community and regional leader – outgoing MSU President Clif Smart.

Missouri State University is on a strong growth trajectory, and we are all excited about the future. In the midst of that excitement, it is important for all of us to continue to recognize what got us here.

In the most significant way, so much of MSU’s current success and momentum was catalyzed by Clif Smart’s leadership.

He is one of those people who fully embodies his executive role. His leadership – and, to a great degree, his life – became synonymous with the university. In that way, I liken him to Steve Edwards, whose leadership made him the personification of CoxHealth.

At the same time, as much as Clif is MSU, he has taken the role of leadership so far beyond the walls of the institution he serves, providing significant influence to our broader region, at both the state and national level.

When you look at a project like The Alliance for Healthcare Education and the strategies he has helped us pursue, I can’t imagine that we would have gotten to the point we are today if Clif had not been one of the executives at the table.

It was through the Alliance process that I got to know Clif. I went from being introduced to an iconic figure in the community to now being able to call him a trusted colleague.

He is one of those leaders who assumed a role and then elevated it – most university presidents simply don’t have the impact that Clif Smart has had on our community and region. And I believe MSU’s current momentum was the chief reason we were able to attract the next top talent, Biff Williams, to carry on this important role.

I am grateful for Clif’s service, his authenticity, and his example. I know Clif’s legacy will endure, and I am excited to see what kind of impact he will continue to have in our community.

Finalized state budget supports The Alliance for Healthcare Education

I was proud today as Governor Mike Parson officially signed a state budget that includes $15 million in support for The Alliance for Healthcare Education.

What an amazing announcement for our region and the future of health care. With this support, The Alliance will be able to jumpstart opportunities to educate the future of the health care industry.

This funding will be used to finance infrastructure – renovating facilities on the Cox North campus to create a state-of-the-art learning space – educational programs and more as The Alliance works to expand the health care workforce pipeline in our region.

“We are grateful for the incredible state support for The Alliance for Healthcare Education,” says Shallina Goodnight, executive director of The Alliance. “We have brought together four regional powerhouses in education and health care, and this additional state support will drive us even faster toward our vision.”

I want to express my personal appreciation to Governor Mike Parson, Senator Lincoln Hough, and Representative Cody Smith for their commitment to education, workforce development, and the ongoing vitality of health care in our region.

You can see a news release from The Alliance on coxhealth.com

Update on expansion of pediatric care with St. Louis Children’s Hospital

We are making great progress in our work with St. Louis Children's Hospital. It has been great to fuse together our unique understanding of this community with the expertise that comes from one of the nation’s top pediatric programs.

At every checkpoint, we are convinced that this collaboration is right for our region, and we are right on track to finalize our agreement this fall.

In the meantime, subject matter experts from our respective teams are working collaboratively to nail down the important details of the project, and, at every step, the relationship grows stronger.

As you can understand, this process is not accomplished quickly. We anticipate that we will have more concrete information to share with you this fall.

This means, for the next few months, we won’t have a lot to share about this collaboration beyond what we highlighted in May. That just means things are moving forward as expected, and we are building momentum for our big launch.

Remembering Chance Whitelaw

We recently lost a dear colleague, Chance Whitelaw, who died tragically in a motor vehicle accident on his way home from his shift at Cox Medical Center Branson.

Chance was a longtime nurse in our neurotrauma ICU at Cox South. He recently graduated as a nurse practitioner and was working nights with the hospitalist team at Cox Medical Center Branson.

He was a husband and a father of five, and a valuable member of our CoxHealth family.

I know there are many people hurting right now, his family, his friends and his colleagues. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.

Voice of the patient

Adapted from patient feedback at Cox Springfield: “The nurses were awesome. The stay at CoxHealth was very pleasant. It changed my view of CoxHealth!”

Thank you for all you do,

Max