CMH hires leader for newly assumed emergency operations

Provided by Citizens Memorial Hospital

Dr. Keith Butvilas starts Dec. 1.

Citizens Memorial Hospital has hired an emergency services leader after the Bolivar health care system recently transitioned operations in-house.

Dr. Keith Butvilas is scheduled to start Dec. 1 as medical director of emergency services, according to a news release. With more than 20 years of emergency medicine and leadership experience, Butvilas most recently served as an attending physician in emergency medicine at health care systems including Mercy Hospital Springfield.

At CMH, he'll succeed Dr. Andrew Nicholes, interim medical director for the emergency department. Nicholes will not remain on the emergency department staff, said CMH spokesperson Tamera Heitz-Peek.

Butvilas will lead the emergency department following CMH’s assumption of its operations on Aug. 1, according to past reporting. Triad Physician Solutions had been the emergency department's contracted staffing management provider since August 2019.

“The large majority of our medical staff is employed by CMH. One exception is the emergency department,” CMH CEO Michael Calhoun said in July when announcing the decision. "The emergency department is the front door of CMH, and we want to make sure we do a great job serving the community and our patients. Focusing on building our own group of physicians that are aligned with CMH values, we can work together to improve care."