Dear Colleagues,
As we celebrate the holidays with loved ones and prepare to ring in a new year, I want to take a moment to share my reflections on our academic health system’s clinical, research and educational achievements over the past 12 months. There are so many accolades and milestones that I can’t mention all of them, but I do want to share a few of the most memorable.
From a clinical perspective, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the protracted negotiation with Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield. That multi-month out-of-network period this past spring created challenges for many of you who worked so hard to minimize the impact on our patients. I can’t thank you enough for your patience, empathy and perseverance as we navigated this difficult period together.
Despite the challenges we faced with the Anthem negotiations, we were still able to grow our services across mid-Missouri. In 2025, we opened a new pharmacy and family medicine clinic in Jefferson City, we expanded the hours at our Jefferson City quick care location, we opened a new early morning Sports Medicine Injury Clinic in Jefferson City and added a new non-oncologic ambulatory infusion unit at Keene Street Medical Center in Columbia.
The additions at Keene Street Medical Center were made possible by the new Children’s Hospital that we opened in summer 2024. We celebrated the hospital’s first birthday this past July with one of the most memorable visual demonstrations we’ve ever choreographed, as Columbia firefighters dressed as superheroes rappelled down the front of the building. It was quite a sight and attracted the attention of media from across the state.
We also hosted more than 1,000 high school and middle school students for our annual Tomorrow’s Health Experts Expo in November. Over the past three years, the event has grown to more than 50 interactive booths representing health care-related fields from across Mizzou and beyond.
Also in November, we graciously accepted the prestigious Missouri Hospital Association “Aim for Excellence” award that recognized MU Health Care’s Capital Region Medical Center for reducing wait times in the emergency department.
Our research teams also had reasons to celebrate 2025. The School of Medicine received nearly $4 million from the Health Resources and Service Administration to establish a center dedicated to improving rural telehealth care. Other new federal awards for Mizzou researchers include $3 million to fight nicotine addiction, $2 million to study fertility and ovarian health, nearly $2 million to examine asthma triggers and $2.6 million to study heart failure. We are also proud to be named one of Avant-Garde's “2025 Healthcare Research All-Stars,” ranking in the top 5% of hospitals publishing leading-edge health care research.
We celebrated important anniversaries in 2025. Our Rural Scholars Program, established in 1995 to address the critical shortage of physicians in rural Missouri, marked 30 years. Since its inception, nearly 60% of our Rural Scholars alumni have gone on to practice in rural communities.
It was also a memorable year for the School of Medicine’s Department of Family and Community Medicine, which celebrated its 50th anniversary. It was established in 1975 as one of the nation’s first academic Family Medicine departments.
Earlier this year, the Mizzou School of Medicine awarded medical degrees to 111 medical school students. The graduating class had a 99% match rate, with 31% choosing to remain at Mizzou for residency. As the Class of 2025 departed, we welcomed the Class of 2029 in late July. More than 85% of the 136 incoming students are from Missouri, and 11% come from rural areas.
As we look back on a year filled with both challenges and remarkable achievements, I remain deeply grateful for the compassion, dedication and unwavering commitment each of you brings to our academic health system. Whether caring for patients during uncertain times, advancing groundbreaking research or shaping the next generation of health care professionals, you continue to embody the very best of who we are. Thank you for showing up for each other and for the communities we serve. I hope this holiday season brings you rest, joy and time with the people who mean the most to you. I look forward to all we will accomplish together in the year ahead.
Happy Holidays,
Rick Barohn, MD
Executive Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and Hugh E. and Sarah D. Stephenson Dean, School of Medicine
rbarohn@health.missouri.edu
