CoxHealth names Trina Hargis as vice president of nursing for its Community Hospital Group

Trina Hargis has been named vice president of nursing for CoxHealth’s Community Hospital Group. In her new role, she will hold oversight responsibility for nursing practice at CoxHealth’s hospitals in Branson, Monett and Barton County, and have direct clinical operations responsibilities at Cox Medical Center Branson.

“Trina is an accomplished and transformational nurse leader. She is well known for her ability to build teams, develop both front-line staff and leaders, and inspire others to accomplish goals to deliver the best patient care,” says Beth Polivka, CoxHealth’s system chief nursing officer.

Hargis has 27 years of nursing experience, and has most recently served as an administrative director of nursing for CoxHealth. In this role, she has led operations in 42 primary care locations, nine urgent cares, occupational medicine, and the CARE Mobile.

Hargis graduated with her nursing degree in 1995 and completed her BSN in 2003 from Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, Mo. She received her MHA from Missouri State University in 2015.

Hargis began her career caring for patients in an emergency care setting. In her time at CoxHealth, she served as a nurse manager for CoxHealth’s Clinical Decision Unit, where she helped pioneer new approaches to caring for hospitalized observation patients.

She later assumed leadership of CoxHealth’s urgent cares, and she was instrumental in the launch of virtual visits on demand for CoxHealth.

“Trina has guided her clinical teams through unprecedented growth for the health system. Her leadership journey has given her a unique perspective across the patient continuum of care,” Polivka says. “She has built relationships with leaders in CHG given the scope of her responsibilities over the last several years, and she is excited to join the team. Our Community Hospital Group brings great value to CoxHealth and delivers quality care to people in the communities they serve.”

Hargis steps into the position as current VP Lynne Yaggy nears her planned retirement on July 1. Yaggy is completing a 42-year career in health care, which has led her from front-line care into leadership.

Yaggy began her career with CoxHealth as a receptionist at the Cox North ER. She later attended Burge School of Nursing and rose through the ranks of leadership at CoxHealth over the next four decades. In 2013, she came to Branson as Chief Nursing Officer and VP of Clinical Services as CoxHealth acquired Skaggs Community Hospital.

Yaggy worked to cultivate a culture of clinical excellence in Branson, and her efforts helped the hospital achieve a 5-star quality rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services last year.

In 2022, she took broader responsibilities as the CHG VP of nursing, helping to ensure support and standardization in nursing services across CHG.

“We appreciate her years of dedication to our organization and her teams, as well as her commitment to the patients whose care she influenced throughout her tenure,” Polivka says.

Hargis will assume the role effective June 26.

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