OSF Children's Hospital Surgeon-in-Chief Retiring

Following 20 years of dedicated service to OSF HealthCare Children’s Hospital of Illinois, and patients throughout central Illinois, Dr. Richard Pearl is retiring, effective October 1, 2018.

Dr. Pearl wears many hats, not just in the operating room. He is Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics at the University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria, Director of Pediatric Trauma and Surgeon-in-Chief at OSF Healthcare Children’s Hospital of Illinois, and Director of the Pediatric Surgery Center.

Dr. Pearl will continue in his part-time role as the Director of Surgical Simulation at Jump Simulation where he organizes surgical simulation projects, coordinates American College of Surgeons accreditation, and will oversee an ACS Simulation Fellowship.

Over the years, Dr. Pearl’s drive to improve care for children has led to many initiatives including:

          • Establishment of the Jump Trading Simulation and Education Center.

          • Construction of the OSF Children’s Hospital building, which brought pediatric inpatientcare into one state-
             of-the-art building when it opened in 2010.

          • Participation in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program
            (ACS NSQIP).

          • Opening pediatric general surgery satellite clinics throughout northern, central and southern Illinois.

In 1998, Dr. Pearl was the first board-certified pediatric surgeon recruited by OSF Children's Hospital. The team has grown to five pediatric surgeons who perform more than 1,200 procedures a year, the second busiest group in the state of Illinois.

Dr. Pearl received his Medical Degree from Wright State University and completed his surgical residency at Harvard Surgical Service/New England Deaconess Hospital in Boston followed by a Pediatric Surgery Residency at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, where he also served as Chief of Pediatric Surgery prior to coming to Peoria. Dr. Pearl is a retired Colonel in the U.S. Army, with his career spanning nearly 30 years from 1966 to 1994. He served as an infantry officer and helicopter pilot in Vietnam and Germany, and as a surgeon in Saudi Arabia and Iraq during Operation Desert Storm. He has received numerous military honors and awards, including the Bronze Star and Legion of Merit.

With Dr. Pearl’s retirement, Dr. Charles Aprahamian will assume responsibilities as Surgeon-in-Chief for the Department of Pediatric Surgery.