Child Life Specialist - CoxHealth South
How this pay compares
This posting does not state an hourly rate. Child life specialists employed in Missouri earn a median of $29.32 an hour (source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics), according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2025) (source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics).
Child life specialists in Missouri: pay by town and employer
The More Allied Health job market: pay, applicant demand and hiring, researched nightly
Workplace injuries
CoxHealth in Springfield reported 6 work injuries and illnesses to OSHA for 2025 over 1,143,510 hours worked: 1.0 per 100 full-time workers, against 4.5 per 100 full-time workers at specialty hospitalsnationwide. With its hours, the best estimate leaning on similar sites is 1.2 per 100 full-time workers. None describe violence by a patient, resident or client in the case's own words. This is the employer's own report. Workplace injuries by employer.
Medicare rating of Cox Medical Centers
Medicare gives Cox Medical Centers 3 of 5 stars (Jul 2026; Missouri's hospitals average 3.1). 73% of its patients said their nurses always communicated well (the middle US hospital: 79%). Medicare did not cut its pay for patient harm in fiscal 2026. Its central line bloodstream infections ran 37% below predicted by Medicare's measure. Patients' ratings of their care, not employees' of the job. Its other hospitals · Missouri hospitals by rating.
Allied health jobs in our research
- How long these jobs stay listed: Still listed at 7 days 82.5%
- Applicant demand per open job on this site (1.00x is the average job): Index 2.25x · Clicks 56
- How often these jobs state their pay: Jobs stating any pay 47.4% · Stating an hourly rate 33.2%
From every open job we read and every apply click on this site, as of 11 Nov 2026. Every figure for Allied health jobs
About the job
Facility
CoxHealth South: 3801 S National Ave, Springfield, Missouri, United States of America, 65807
Department
1084 SLC-CH Child Life Services
Scheduled Weekly Hours
40
Hours
6:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Work Shift
Day Shift (United States of America)
CoxHealth is a leading healthcare system serving 25 counties across southwest Missouri and northern Arkansas. The organization includes six hospitals, 5 ERs, and over 80 clinics. CoxHealth has earned the following honors for workplace excellence:
- Named one of Modern Healthcare’s Best Places to work five times.
- Named one of America’s Greatest Workplaces, Greatest Workplaces in Healthcare (2025, 2026), Greatest Workplaces for Women (2023, 2024), and Greatest Workplaces for Diversity (2024) by Newsweek and Plant-A Insights Group .
- Acknowledged by Forbes as one of the Best Employers for New Grads.
- Healthcare Innovation's Top Companies to Work for in Healthcare (2025).
Benefits
- Medical, Vision, Dental, Retirement with Employer Match and more (20+ hrs/week)
- For a comprehensive list of benefits, please click here: Benefits | CoxHealth
Job Description
A caregiver who assumes responsibility and accountability for all pediatric patients, during contact with the hospital either as an inpatient or outpatient. Our Specialists provide care for these patients through therapeutic use of self, patient activities, hospital environment adaptation, and education of other health care team members regarding development and children’s reactions to hospital stressors.Education:
- Required: Bachelor’s Degree in Child and Family Development or a related field
- Required: Completion of 600 hour child life specialist internship prior to hire
- Preferred: Degree emphasis in Child Life with a professional hospital internship
Experience
- Preferred: Previous pediatric volunteer experience
Skills
- Performs assessments and goal-directed plans of care to facilitate patient outcomes.
- Evaluates the effectiveness of self and services
- Identifies educational goals for patients, family, staff members, the community, and other hospital departments
- Provides a safe, therapeutic, individualized physical and psychosocial environment for patients and their families
Licensure/Certification/Registration
- Required: Eligible to set for the Child Life Certification exam, if not a Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS)
- Preferred: Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPST)
From CoxHealth's job posting, checked 12 Nov 2026. The employer's own page is the final word on requirements and availability.
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About CoxHealth
CoxHealth is a not-for-profit health system with six hospitals and more than 100 (source: CoxHealth, About Us) clinics serving Springfield and the Ozarks region of southwest Missouri. Source: CoxHealth, About Us
Based in Springfield, MOHires in MissouriPay on its listings: 2% of its open jobs state an hourly rate
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