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Our History
Home health care came to southwest Missouri in 1974 when Chuck Goforth opened a franchise of Upjohn HealthCare Services offering private-duty nursing and nurse staffing services. By the end of 1975 his agency was recognized as the fastest growing business in the history of Upjohn, with offices in Springfield and Joplin. Working with the state government, Goforth took the next step and the Springfield location became one of three pilot programs in Missouri to offer state-funded In-Home services, providing mainly housekeeping and personal care. Goforth developed many home care programs available in Missouri; and today, more than 50,000 Missourians now benefit from the In-Home Services Program. Continuing to grow, yet staying focused on the people, the company introduced Medicaid and Medicare services, as well as pediatric home care and IV therapy. A full range of home care services and a system where people could access everything they need to stay independent at home with one phone call were also developed. In 1991, the Upjohn company sold its national home care business. Wanting to gain independence, a group of Upjohn licensees banded together and Oxford HealthCare was born. Then in 1993, Founder and President Chuck Goforth merged Oxford HealthCare with Cox Health Systems. The decision to merge was an excellent one for all involved—a decision that made Oxford stronger and more equipped to meet future goals. The next few years, the company experienced tremendous growth and continued this history of excellence. In 2000, Goforth retired, and Karen Thomas became President of Oxford HealthCare. Thomas took Oxford into the era of technology, and Oxford introduced the most innovative technology in the home care field. In July 2002, Oxford became the exclusive provider of the HomMed Health Monitoring System. Oxford's innovative use of telemonitoring has set standards locally, regionally, and nationally. In 2004, Oxford worked with the state legislature to develop a state-funded telemonitoring program. This program has been extremely successful, reducing unnecessary hospital days by 63% and emergency room visits by 52%. Since introducing HomMed, Oxford has continued to increase the use of technology in other areas as well, and in 2004, Thomas was named as one of the Springfield Business Journal's 20 Most Successful Women. In 2006, Oxford received the Innovator of the Year Award from the Journal; and Thomas received proclamations from the Missouri House, Senate and Governor because of Oxford's groundbreaking use of technology. In 2006, Oxford opened an office in Branson in order to better serve the people in that growing area of the state. Oxford also received Hospice certification in December of 2006. In January 2007, Oxford expanded to meet additional needs by taking over the Lifeline program from CoxHealth. Oxford HealthCare has always been the leading home care provider in southwest Missouri and continues to carry on a tradition of excellence that is over three decades strong. Oxford has been named the Best Home Health Care Agency every year since the inception of the Springfield NewsLeader survey and has also been recognized as the Best Place to Work in two of those years. Oxford is dedicated to providing quality home care and keeping families together.

