Dr. Kayce Morton has a mission to serve the kids in her community and state.  She has served in many roles since completing her pediatrics residency at University of Missouri in May 2008.  She has been with Cox Health in Springfield since 2008 and recently stepped down as the pediatric chair of the department.  She is a Pediatric Hospitalist, section chair from 2014-2018.  (She graduated from Kansas City University of Biosciences-COM in May of 2005 prior to going to the University of Missouri.)  When she first arrived in Springfield she was on the ADA board and was active in diabetes camp every summer. “It was great and my kids went and learned a lot.” Now she serves on the board and is active at their local crisis nursery Isabel’s House. Isabel’s House provides immediate refuge for children ages birth to 12 whose families are in crisis. Their goal is to strengthen families and prevent child abuse and neglect. This was in line with her interest in childhood trauma and increases her role in advocacy for local patients and their families.  She also loves serving on the Mayor’s Commission for Children Advisory board. Over the last six years, this role has allowed her to ensure that kids in her area have access to quality pre-K resources.  Recently she became president elect for the local Greene County Medical Society which is serving local physicians to promote educational and social opportunities for physicians, providing connection opportunities that they may not otherwise have.

Currently Dr. Morton is the Communications Committee chair for the MOAAP and she serves on the board.  She is the chair for the Trauma Informed subcommittee. She has been on the communications committee for several years.  In the AAP she has been active in the Section on Hospital Medicine.  She has been a MOAAP member since residency and after graduation she wondered how further membership would be meaningful.  Through the years her MOAAP membership has had definite proven benefits. “As I have grown in my career it has helped me become a better physician and advocate for the things that matter to my patients.  Advocacy does matter and MOAAP does want to help us do better for all Missouri kids and family.  MOAAP has also allowed me to push forward into further developing education and awareness around ACES and Childhood trauma, which has become a personal passion for me.”

Dr. Morton has been a member of the Society of Hospital medicine and has served on their pediatric committees and planning committee for the Pediatric Hospital Medicine 2015-2018.  She is presenting on childhood trauma this July.  The MOAAP Trauma Informed subcommittee is planning a conference on childhood trauma this October.  She has participated in national QI projects with PRIS and most recently Pediatric Inpatient Pathways for Asthma and overuse QI project on pulse oximetry in bronchiolitis (or EMO) study. She is a part of the local health department’s tobacco coalition and under special training with the AAP, now working on getting Tobacco 21 passed in Springfield. Tobacco 21 is being put before the council on June 17 and will be put to a vote in Springfield on July 1.  She has a goal of having this passed in the surrounding cities. She has published in the GCMS on Tobacco 21 and childhood trauma. She has presented at PHM, SHM, and GCMS.

Dr. Morton and her husband Brandon will be celebrating their 20-year anniversary soon. They have a daughter who is 14 and a son who is 11.  They enjoy watching their children’s sports: basketball, cross country, track, and baseball.  They like to spend time on Table Rock lake and traveling. They participate in HavaHeart Rescue and have a “sweet and crazy” 11-month-old mixed breed Huxley and 4 year old Weim. rescue Fritz.