The Emergency Department at McDonough District Hospital has added a new group of physicians whom will compliment MDH staff physicians Dr. George Roodhouse, Dr. Robert McEntyre and Dr. Marion Raso, according to Emergency Department Director Chris Dace.

The hospital has established a services contract with Advanced Emergency Specialists (AES), LTD., an established group of 19 emergency medicine physicians whom currently staff the emergency departments at both Cottage Hospital in Galesburg and Pekin Hospital in Pekin.

"Our goal is to reduce our dependence on locum tenens physicians and to work with an established group of qualified physician providers from the area to compliment our own emergency room physicians," Dace said.

To begin, six physicians from AES will be joining the departmental staff. These physicians include James A. Klein, M.D.; James G. Szudera, D.O.; John W. Woodward, Jr., M.D.; J. Jeffrey Krug, M.D.; Veerasikku Bommiasamy, M.D.; and Mark P. Gaudio, M.D. These physicians have extensive emergency medicine experience and are very familiar with the practice settings within our region. This experience, along with a strong desire to collaborate with our existing medical staff, offers an opportunity that should be beneficial to all, according to Dace.

"This arrangement should provide stability with Emergency Room physician staffing which is fundamental to both patient and staff satisfaction," adds Dace.

This staffing stability is also a necessity as the Emergency Department transitions into an electronic medical record this year, according to Dace.

"We are pleased to welcome our new Emergency Department physicians and look forward to working with them as we provide emergency services to the more than 13,000 patients annually," Dace said.