Dr. Matthew Alder named Pediatrician-in-Chief and Chief Medical Officer for St. Louis Children’s at CoxHealth

St. Louis Children’s at CoxHealth is pleased to announce that Matthew N. Alder, MD, PhD, a highly regarded pediatric critical care physician, has been named the inaugural pediatrician-in-chief and chief medical officer at St. Louis Children’s at CoxHealth. He is also a WashU Medicine voluntary clinical professor of pediatrics.

Dr. Alder’s new role advances a collaboration between St. Louis Children’s Hospital and CoxHealth — supported by the expertise of WashU Medicine pediatric physicians — to expand access to pediatric specialty care across southwest Missouri. 

Dr. Alder will oversee the joint venture’s pediatric services at the new St. Louis Children’s at CoxHealth, the only independently licensed pediatric hospital in southwest Missouri. St. Louis Children’s at CoxHealth, which opened March 1 within the walls of Cox South, includes an advanced neonatal intensive care unit, a pediatric intensive care unit, and inpatient pediatric care.

“Dr. Alder brings broad experience in pediatric critical care medicine across diverse intensive care unit settings and care teams to his new role, where he also will coordinate and direct strategic initiatives for pediatric specialty care,” says Dr. Paul Scheel Jr., vice chancellor for clinical affairs at WashU Medicine, CEO of WashU Medicine Physicians and president of WashU Medicine & BJC HealthCare Physician Provider Organization.

Dr. Alder previously served as an attending physician in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine at Cox Medical Center South and is board certified in pediatric critical care. 

His leadership will be integral to the new, 133,000 square-foot outpatient Specialty Care Center, scheduled to open in 2027 on the Cox South campus. The Center will feature ambulatory surgery, imaging, laboratory services, infusion, pediatric specialty care clinics, and more. Specialties will significantly expand access to advanced pediatric care with the addition of cardiology, hematology, oncology, ophthalmology, surgery, and urology.

Dr. Alder earned his medical degree and a doctor of philosophy in immunology in 2009, both from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He completed his residency in pediatrics and fellowship in pediatric critical care medicine at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. 

From 2015 to 2023, he earned accolades as an academic physician and researcher at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. His clinical expertise includes mechanical ventilation, advanced hemodynamic monitoring, extracorporeal support modalities, and leadership in resuscitation.

At CoxHealth, Dr. Alder has led educational initiatives for nursing, respiratory therapy, and emergency department teams to elevate pediatric critical care capabilities within our regional hospital system.

“Dr. Alder’s experience and dedication to elevating pediatric care greatly enhances our efforts in Springfield,” says Dr. Gary Silverman, the Harriet B. Spoehrer Professor of Pediatrics and head of the WashU Medicine Department of Pediatrics, and physician-in-chief at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. “His efforts will further expand our nationally recognized pediatric expertise to children and families across the region.” 

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 its academic partner, WashU Medicine, 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. St. Louis Children’s is among an elite group of pediatric hospitals worldwide that have achieved a fifth consecutive, four-year Magnet Distinction® designation by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. St. Louis Children’s is also 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.

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.