HSHS Southern Illinois Market honors new Chief Medical Officer with Commissioning Ceremony

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — On March 6, Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS) Southern Illinois Market honored Dr. Doug Barton with a Commissioning Ceremony in HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital Highland’s Chapel. Dr. Barton joined HSHS as the Southern Illinois Market Chief Medical Officer on Feb. 10, 2025.
 
During the ceremony, Dr. Barton was presented with a San Damiano Cross by HSHS Senior Vice President, Chief Clinical Officer Dr. Kevin L. Lewis and welcomed by members of the HSHS Southern Illinois Market leadership team. Spiritual Care and Mission Supervisors Rebecca Niemerg and Chris Cobb provided welcoming remarks and a prayer for Dr. Barton.
 
Dr. Barton is an experienced physician executive with a proven record of improving hospital-wide patient outcomes at multiple health care systems. He is also accomplished at collaborating with community and cross-continuum partners, achieving improved patient outcomes. Dr. Barton comes to HSHS having most recently served as interim CMO at Mercy General Hospital in Sacramento, California, while also serving as a National Baldrige Examiner, reviewing health care systems’ organizational performance against Baldrige criteria to enhance each system’s ability to execute key organizational initiatives.
 
Dr. Barton has a master’s in health administration from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri, and is a Certified Physician Executive from the American Association for Physician Leadership. A board-certified pediatrician, he received his medical degree from the University of California San Diego, and completed his residency in pediatrics at Washington University in St. Louis.
 
For more information about HSHS, visit hshs.org.