St. Louis Children’s at CoxHealth names vice president to lead expansion of pediatric care

SPRINGFIELD and ST. LOUIS, MO (November 5, 2025) – As the next step in the evolution of pediatric care in southwest Missouri, St. Louis Children’s at CoxHealth has selected Sarah Becker for the role of vice president and administrator of the new joint venture.

As we announced in June, CoxHealth and St. Louis Children’s Hospital—with the support and expertise of pediatric specialists from Washington University School of Medicine—have formed a joint venture to bring more advanced care to children and families in Springfield and the surrounding region, reducing the need for families to travel long distances for care.

Becker currently serves as director of Therapy and Audiology Services at St. Louis Children’s. In her new role, she will relocate to Springfield and serve as an integral part of the leadership team, providing strategic and operational direction to expand access to world-class pediatric specialty care.

“We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Sarah,” says Ashley Casad, senior vice president and president of Springfield hospitals at CoxHealth. “Her experience leading at St. Louis Children’s Hospital and her deep commitment to improving care for kids make her an incredible addition to southwest Missouri. Her growth mindset and collaborative spirit will be instrumental as we expand access and elevate care for children and families across our region.”

Becker will lead the joint venture in its next steps, which includes creating a new pediatric hospital within the walls of CoxHealth. In 2026, the venture plans to break ground on a comprehensive outpatient center that will include ambulatory surgery, pediatric specialty care clinics, imaging, laboratory services, and infusion as well as physical, speech, and occupational therapy. Together, these enhancements will increase local access to more highly specialized medical and surgical care.

“With more than 25 years of health care experience, serving many communities throughout Missouri, Sarah has dedicated her career to improving the lives of children and their families,” said Trish Lollo, St. Louis Children’s Hospital president. “Her compassion, leadership, and wealth of expertise make her an ideal leader to guide and grow St. Louis Children’s at CoxHealth.”

Over the past nine years, Becker led the rapid expansion of St. Louis Children’s Hospital Therapy Services, including opening four new sites of care in Missouri and Illinois and deploying the region’s only pediatric audiology mobile unit.

Her collaborative leadership style and partnership with WashU Medicine physicians have enabled St. Louis Children’s physical and occupational therapy, audiology, speech pathology, athletic training, and electroencephalography programs to grow by more than 50% over the past five years.

Becker is a native of Rolla, Mo., and obtained her bachelor and master's degrees in Health Science from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She is a licensed speech language pathologist and has provided care in both hospital and school settings throughout her career.

She will assume her new role leading St. Louis Children’s at CoxHealth on Dec. 1.

About CoxHealth

CoxHealth is an award-winning regional health system with six hospitals, more than 80 clinics, five ERs and more than 14,000 employees throughout southwest Missouri. CoxHealth is Missouri’s first hospital system accredited by DNV Healthcare for quality and patient safety. Cox Medical Centers, which includes CoxHealth’s Springfield hospitals, is designated as a Magnet® hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's (ANCC) Magnet Recognition Program, and CoxHealth is also the only Springfield hospital named for seven years to U.S. News & World Report's Best Regional Hospitals list. CoxHealth is recognized by CareChex®, the medical quality rating division of Comparion®, as among the Top 10% U.S. hospitals for patient safety in overall hospital, medical and surgical care. For more information, visit www.coxhealth.com.

About St. Louis Children’s Hospital

St. Louis Children’s Hospital is part of BJC Health, one of the largest nonprofit health care organizations in the United States and has provided exceptional care for children from all 50 states and 80 countries around the world for more than 140 years. With care led exclusively by WashU Medicine pediatric specialists, St. Louis Children’s is consistently ranked among the nation’s best pediatric hospitals by U.S. News & World Report and earns national distinction for comprehensive services that include heart, cancer, neurology, and orthopedics. Designated as a Magnet^® hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Magnet Recognition Program, St. Louis Children’s is one of only 76 hospitals worldwide to achieve a fourth consecutive four-year Magnet Recognition^® for nursing excellence and is one of the few pediatric hospitals in the Midwest nationally recognized by the American College of Surgeons as a Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center, which is the highest classification of trauma care. To learn more, visit StLouisChildrens.org, Facebook, and Instagram.

About WashU Medicine

WashU Medicine is a global leader in academic medicine, including biomedical research, patient care and educational programs with more than 3,000 faculty. Its National Institutes of Health (NIH) research funding portfolio is the second largest among U.S. medical schools and has grown 83% since 2016. Together with institutional investment, WashU Medicine commits well over $1 billion annually to basic and clinical research innovation and training. Its faculty practice is consistently among the top five in the country, with more than 2,000 faculty physicians practicing at 130 locations. WashU Medicine physicians exclusively staff Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals — the academic hospitals of BJC HealthCare — and Siteman Cancer Center, a partnership between BJC HealthCare and WashU Medicine and the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in Missouri. WashU Medicine physicians also treat patients at BJC’s community hospitals in our region. With a storied history in MD/PhD training, WashU Medicine recently dedicated $100 million to scholarships and curriculum renewal for its medical students, and is home to top-notch training programs in every medical subspecialty as well as physical therapy, occupational therapy, and audiology and communications sciences.