- Regional Medical Director
WashU Medicine Emergency Department
Cassandra Haddox, DO, FACEP, regional medical director, stepped into her role as regional medical director at WashU in the spring of 2025. She oversaw the implementation and continues to refine WashU Medicine’s Emergency Department expansion at four key suburban locations: Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital, Christian Hospital, Northwest HealthCare, and Progress West Hospital. Her leadership has been pivotal in bringing additional providers to these facilities, ensuring that critical, life-saving clinical care is readily available throughout the larger St. Louis region.
“Our mission is to provide prompt quality care to each person who comes to our Emergency Departments,” Dr. Haddox said. “I love being a part of a team and working together to find solutions. In the Emergency Department, operations are everything, and I enjoy optimizing operations at each site to improve patient care, both from a quality and a patient experience perspective.”
Dr. Haddox collaborates with each site’s medical director to ensure smooth operations and provide patients with the best possible experience. She also engages with clinical providers and staff to identify and implement improvements for current and future functionality and long-term success at each site.
“I find having an open discussion about expectations, wants and needs is the key to success,” Dr. Haddox said. “As a leader, your team needs to know what the expectations are of them but also need to know you are listening and hearing whatever concerns or barriers they might have. They are the ‘boots on the ground’ and that information is crucial to being able to help lead them to success.”
With the site expansions, the team has introduced quarterly faculty development sessions alongside site expansions to simulate patient care settings. These sessions enable providers to practice and train on real-life topics like airway management and maternal-fetal emergencies, merging academics with community care to maintain the highest level of care. Additionally, they are redesigning emergency department flow to enhance patient turnaround times, particularly for discharged patients.
In her personal time, Dr. Haddox enjoys spending time with her family and nurturing their passion for sports. Both she and her husband played sports in college and love the competitive spirit. They now support their twin children’s athletic pursuits. Dr. Haddox is currently helping coach her daughter’s basketball team.