Photo by Brandon AlmsDebbie Schwartzkopf is the chief administrative officer at Children's Mercy.
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People
Bringing Pediatric Teams Together for Better Care
Debbie Schwartzkopf, chief administrative officer, is working to unite the Children’s Mercy and Mercy pediatrics teams in Springfield. One of her first moves is hiring Pediatric General Surgeon Troy Spilde, MD.
by Max Havey
Jan 2026
Debbie Schwartzkopf has been working at Children’s Mercy in some capacity for the last 30 years.
She started as a student nurse, eventually working her way up to more operations-focused roles before taking over as chief administrative officer of Children’s Mercy with Mercy in August 2025.
Because pediatrics was previously embedded in the adult system at Mercy Springfield, one of Schwartzkopf’s key goals is uniting it with the Children’s Mercy pediatric system. “The biggest challenge now is recognizing that pediatrics is what we do,” Schwartzkopf says. “We want to make sure we’re able to bring that to life as its own entity in Springfield.”
A key hire, and familiar face to the Springfield region, Dr. Troy Spilde has joined Schwartzkopf’s team as a pediatric general surgeon. “Dr. Spilde represents the first of what we hope are many new physician hires to help us fulfill our commitment to the community to improve the health and well-being of children,” Schwartzkopf says.
