Kadlec Regional Medical Center announces Dr. John Matheson as CMO

Kadlec Regional Medical Center is pleased to announce John Matheson, M.D., as its Chief Medical Officer (CMO). He began in his new role earlier this year, stepping into a position previously held by Dr. Kevin Pieper, who departed for another opportunity.

Dr. Matheson is well known at Kadlec, having worked as a physician and medical director for the Kadlec Emergency Department for the past 19 years.

Dr. Matheson earned his medical degree at the University of Utah School of Medicine in 1999 and served his emergency medical residency at Maricopa Medical Center in Arizona. He practiced emergency medicine in Western Washington before coming to Kadlec in 2006 to become the medical director of the Kadlec Emergency Department.

“I was impressed with the vision, the support and the opportunity here,” he said. “Professionally it was very appealing. My wife and I were also expecting our youngest at the time. I thought I would spend a few years as medical director and then see what happened.”

That was 19 years ago. In addition to his Emergency Department role, he has served as the chair of the Medical Staff Quality Committee, been on the Kadlec Medical Executive Committee, and founded the Practitioner Wellness and Resilience Committee. He also has served on the Board of Directors for the Washington Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians, co-chairs the Team Health Peer Support Program, and is a frequent guest lecturer at medical schools and professional conferences.

 As a doctor, he has always found reward in the ability to make a positive impact on people’s lives on a one-on-one basis. He said he was attracted to the larger leadership role of chief medical officer by the ability to have a positive impact across a larger scale, benefiting providers, caregivers, and patients. While CMOs often step away from patient care, Dr. Matheson is continuing to see patients, working a few shifts in the Emergency Department each month. He said it is important to him and provides perspective.

“I want to be part of improving things,” he said. “I think it is important to have the voice of a clinician at the executive level, and I want to be that link between the people working on the front lines and the people in the executive offices. With my experience, knowing people who are here and interacting with medical staff, I think I can do that.”