Burkland Returns as ER Wheeling Hospital Medical Director

Wheeling native Dr. C. David Burkland has returned to Wheeling Hospital as medical director of the Emergency/Trauma Department.

“I am thrilled to be back at Wheeling Hospital,” said Burkland, a 39-year veteran of emergency medicine. “It feels like I’ve come home.”

He said he looks forward to making a difference in his hometown.

“I’m a mission kind of person,” Burkland said. “I want to nurture a culture where everyone feels valued: the doctors by the hospital, the nurses by the doctors and the patients by all of the above.”

Douglass Harrison, CEO of Wheeling Hospital, called it “the start of a new day” Wheeling Hospital’s emergency room.

“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Burkland back, and I look forward to partnering with him and the WVU Medicine team as we continue to strive for excellence in our clinical services,” Harrison said.

Burkland received his medical degree from West Virginia University School of Medicine in 1980 and began working at Wheeling Hospital in 1981. For 18 years he was the ER medical director. One of the residents who served under Burkland was Dr. Chris Goode, now WVU Medicine chairman of Emergency Medicine. WVU now has a management agreement with Wheeling Hospital.

“It’s exciting to work with the WVU doctors. I’ve known some of them for 20 years,” Burkland said. “I felt very fortunate that WVU wanted to bring me back here.”

After leaving Wheeling Hospital, Burkland served as medical director for MedExpress.

He is certified by the American Board of Emergency Medicine and is a member of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP).

In 2007, Burkland received the West Virginia chapter of ACEP Excellence in Emergency Award; and in 2008 he was named by the National ACEP as one of ACEP’s Heroes of Emergency Medicine.

Burkland has served as medical director for several area fire departments, and medical director of the Region X/XI Paramedic Program at West Virginia Northern Community College. In addition he has served as president of the WV ACEP; counselor to the National ACEP Council; chairman of the Curriculum and Training Committee for the State of West Virginia; and associate professor, Department of Surgery, Section of Emergency Medicine, WVU School of Medicine.