A celebration on the Mercy Springfield campus Thursday marked a new partnership to bring expanded pediatric services and specialized care to southwest Missouri families.
The event celebrated a partnership between Children’s Mercy in Kansas City and Mercy Springfield Communities.
Three of the young actors from Springfield Little Theatre’s production of Annie sang, there were balloons, food and kids’ activities.
And the event was attended by children who have been treated at Mercy and their families. Their stories were displayed on large posters that framed the stage. One had undergone heart surgery, another was treated for cancer, one young girl had received surgery and treatment for GI issues and another was born at 25 weeks gestation and faced several health complications.
Children’s Mercy announced Thursday that it will manage Mercy Springfield’s hospital-based and specialized pediatric care starting this November.
"We're obviously proud of the pediatric service that we have now," said John Myers, president of Mercy Springfield Communities. "We have a pediatric hospital, specialty clinics, and they've really helped create that foundation for us. And partnering with Children's Mercy, which is the number one rated pediatric hospital in the state of Missouri and one of the best in the nation, is just going to take us to the next level with their clinical expertise."
The new partnership will bring expanded pediatric services to southwest Missouri. And Amy Fallon, president of regional operations for Children’s Mercy, said families in this part of the state will benefit from that.
"We're going to bring in more specialists through the partnership to Springfield so families can get their care right here in the community — less drive time, more time at home, more time with family for those outpatient visits," she said.
Children’s Mercy specialists are already providing care in Springfield in the areas of cardiology and neurology, but that care will be expanded.
Fallon said pediatric specialists will join Mercy Springfield and will be based in southwest Missouri. She said they want those specialists to be part of the community.
While families will still have to travel for higher acuity of services, she said, the goal is to keep them near home as much as possible.
And she said Children's Mercy is built for kids, so the way they approach care is centered on young people.
"Our entire child-focused approach is tailored to specifically meet the unique medical, emotional and developmental needs of children, ensuring young patients receive the most compassionate and effective pediatric care possible," she said in a statement.
Dr. John Burson, regional service line chair for Mercy Springfield Women and Children, said in a statement, "by teaming up with Children's Mercy and bringing their specialists to campus, we'll be able to care for more complex needs here at home. As a pediatrician myself, this feels like a huge win for kids in this community."
Children’s Mercy will assume leadership of the day to day operations of Mercy Springfield pediatric services in November.
