CoxHealth Leadership

Max Buetow is the president and CEO of CoxHealth. Buetow joined the organization in 2012 as the director of Springfield Neurological and Spine Institute. His career path continued in the neurosciences when he assumed the role of administrative director for the neuroscience service line. He became a vice president with CoxHealth’s physician entity, Cox Medical Group, and the VP of neurosciences in 2015. In June 2020, Buetow moved into the role of COO, where he had operational responsibility for the enterprise’s six hospitals.

Before CoxHealth, Buetow worked as an operations and distribution manager for Sara Lee Fresh Bakery, developing an affinity for Lean Six Sigma process improvement. Buetow received his undergraduate degree from Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, and his Master of Business Administration at Drury University in Springfield.

Buetow is a board member of LORE, Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, SkyWord Sports Ministries, the Missouri Hospital Association, and the Board of Directors of the Alliance for Healthcare Education. He is also very involved in his local church and enjoys spending time with his wife, Laura, and their four children.

Amanda Hedgpeth serves as executive vice president and chief operating officer for CoxHealth. Previously, she served as the vice president of hospital operations for the Springfield Hospital Group and vice president of clinical services. She began her career at CoxHealth in 2005 as a budget analyst.

Hedgpeth’s current responsibilities at CoxHealth include oversight of all operations within the system — including CoxHealth's six hospitals, more than 80 clinics, and more. She has system-wide responsibilities for performance improvement, research, and innovations. Hedgpeth also served as deputy incident command leader for the hospital system’s COVID-19 response.

She holds a Bachelor of Science in accounting and a Master of Business Administration from Missouri State University. Hedgpeth lives in Ozark with her husband, Andy, and their three children.

Jake McWay is executive vice president and chief financial officer for CoxHealth. He has been with the organization since 2003, overseeing the financial operations and planning for the enterprise. Previously, he served as the executive vice president and chief financial officer for Cox HealthPlans and as a manager with accounting firm BKD (now Forvis Mazars). McWay is a certified public accountant and earned his Bachelor of Science in accounting from Missouri State University.

Ashley Casad is the president of the Springfield Hospital Group and a senior vice president of operations for CoxHealth. Casad began her career at CoxHealth in 2020, when she joined the system as a vice president for clinical services. As vice president, she had responsibility for oncology, neurosciences, cardiovascular services, respiratory therapy, lab, and radiology. In addition to overseeing these departments, Casad served as the deputy incident commander for the systemwide response to COVID-19. Casad moved into her current role in 2023.

Before joining CoxHealth, Casad worked at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. She started her career there as a postgraduate administrative fellow. Following her fellowship, she joined the neurosciences department as the assistant administrator, responsible for the operations and finances of the department.

Casad earned her bachelor’s degree in history at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. She has a Master of Business Administration and a master’s of health administration degree from the University of Missouri in Columbia.

Beth Polivka is a senior vice president and the system chief nursing officer for CoxHealth. The majority of Polivka’s 29-year nursing career has been at CoxHealth, which includes over 20 years of serving in various roles from direct care staff nurse to an administrative director of nursing before her promotion to the system chief nursing officer in 2021.

As system chief nursing officer, Polivka is responsible for all levels of nursing practice delivered by over 3,500 licensed nurses providing care across the continuum at CoxHealth. During her tenure as the chief nursing officer, she led the Springfield hospitals to achieve the first Magnet designation in the region, an international recognition and nursing’s highest honor. Only 9% of hospitals in the United States achieve this designation. In addition, our Branson hospital achieved the first and only Pathways designation in the region.  During her leadership tenure as chief nursing officer, Cox Medical Centers achieved the region’s only ANCC accreditation of the nurse residency program which is a program for first time nurses transitioning from student nurse to RN practice following graduation.  Our international nurse fellowship program was given ANCC accreditation as well in 2024 which was the first in the United States to receive this designation.  Polivka earned her Bachelor of Science in nursing at Southwest Baptist University in Springfield, Missouri, and holds a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Evangel University. She is certified in executive nursing practice through the American Organization for Nursing Leadership.

Shawn Usery, MD, MBA, SFHM, is the system chief medical officer and senior vice president for CoxHealth. In 2008, Usery joined CoxHealth as a family medicine resident, eventually receiving the distinction of chief resident. In 2011, Usery joined CoxHealth’s hospitalist group, where he served as the program’s assistant medical director. From 2017 to 2019, Usery served as the chief medical officer for Cox Medical Center Branson and then as the chief medical officer for CoxHealth’s Community Hospital Group, responsible for CoxHealth’s three community and critical access hospitals. In April 2021, Usery was promoted to his current role as system chief medical officer and senior vice president. He’s responsible for provider and hospital quality, as well as medical staff services for the entire CoxHealth system.

Usery completed his undergraduate and Master of Business Administration degrees at Drury University in Springfield. He received his medical doctorate at Saint Louis University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. He completed his internship and residency at CoxHealth Family Medical Residency.

Outside of work, Usery mentors undergraduate students at his alma mater, Drury University. He is an avid hunter and fisherman. He also enjoys spending time with his wife, Blair, and their three boys.