MDH Names Dr. Edwin Card Chief Medical Officer

MACOMB, Ill. – The McDonough District Hospital Board of Directors, Medical Staff and Senior Leadership Team are pleased to announce Dr. Edwin Card, FACS, has agreed to take on the additional responsibility of Chief Medical Officer (CMO), effective July 1.

During the recent June MDH Board of Directors meeting, the Board voted unanimously in support of Dr. Card serving in this capacity. He will continue in his role providing full time surgical coverage with his partner Dr. James Gonzales in addition to accepting this added responsibility in service to the hospital and community.

“I’ve been involved in medical staff governance and worked with MDH administration on multiple special projects. I am looking forward to continuing in that role in an official capacity,” said Dr. Card. “I appreciate the confidence of Mr. (Brian) Dietz and the Board of Directors in entrusting this role to me.”

Throughout his professional career, Dr. Card has served on multiple state committees. A past President of the Illinois Surgical Society, he spent five years on the organization’s Board of Governors. For three years he served on the Illinois Chapter Board of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) in addition to the role of the state’s Program Director for the ACS annual meeting. 

On two different occasions Dr. Card took over as MDH Medical Staff President, and for the last 10 years he has chaired the MDH Credentials Committee.

Dr. Rick Iverson, Chair of the MDH Board of Directors, noted having Dr. Card step into this role is a great addition for the hospital. 

“I am delighted with the recent appointment of Dr. Edwin Card as our new Chief Medical Officer. His appointment is a recognition of the many ways, for many years, in which he has been helpful to our staff and administration so that we might be the best organization that we can be. He has been a trusted general and vascular surgeon for many years at MDH. Along the way he has used his efforts to help us solve many organizational challenges, and he will continue that,” said Dr. Iverson. “In his new role he will fully collaborate with our current Medical Staff President Dr. Tim Biagini, who is fully supportive of this new position. Medical Staff Presidents serve for two-year terms, but a CMO is an ongoing position which assures that we maintain a continuity of clinical/medical support and oversight on behalf of the hospital and most importantly our patients.”

MDH President/Chief Executive Officer Brian E. Dietz, FACHE, is pleased with the Board’s decision to unanimously support this recommendation.

“We are very fortunate to have an internal resource with Dr. Edwin Card’s experience and familiarity with MDH and the community to serve in this capacity. In most cases hospitals and health systems have to conduct a national search to find qualified candidates to fill this very important role. In our case, because of Dr. Card’s ongoing interest and commitment in serving in various clinical and administrative capacities in support of MDH and the Medical Community in general, he has developed a valuable skill set which will be an asset to our organization in many ways.” 

Dr. Card graduated from the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine and in 1984 completed his residency at St. John’s and Memorial Hospitals in Springfield. He was honored by the SIU School of Medicine as a ’40 for 40’ alum – honoring physicians whose career best reflects the school’s mission of providing high-quality care and medical services to southern and rural Illinois.

Board Certified in General Surgery, he’s a member of the American College of Surgeons, American Medical Association, Illinois Surgical Society, and the Midwest Surgical Association. Since 1984, Dr. Card has performed over 15,000 surgical procedures at MDH.