Family Practice in Seneca Affiliates with Morris Hospital & Healthcare Centers
Dr. Dana Howd
April 15, 2020, MORRIS, IL – As the result of an affiliation agreement with Morris Hospital & Healthcare Centers, Howd Medical Center, 271 N. Main St., Seneca, will become the Seneca Healthcare Center of Morris Hospital effective April 13.
Along with the agreement, Dr. Dana Howd, Internal Medicine/Pediatrician, will make the transition from primary care in the office setting to a full-time hospitalist focused on the care of hospitalized patients at Morris Hospital.
As part of the transition, Dr. Howd has been actively working with Morris Hospital over the past several months to recruit the successor to her practice, family medicine physician Dr. Colin Kao, D.O. A letter was mailed to Dr. Howd’s patients in March notifying them of the transition.
Dr. Howd has served the Seneca community and Morris Hospital Medical Staff for the past 26 years.
“I have had the tremendous privilege of caring for many wonderful people through my medical practice in Seneca,” says Dr. Howd. “Now it’s time for a new chapter in my life.”
Dr. Colin Kao
Dr. Kao has served as a physician for 15 years and has more than 10 years’ experience working in a family practice setting, including five years in Coal City. Morris Hospital is actively recruiting a nurse practitioner to join Dr. Kao in the Seneca office.
“Dr. Kao is a wonderful board-certified family medicine physician,” says Dr. Howd. “He is very personable, knowledgeable and caring. I believe he’ll be a great fit for our community.”
As a board-certified family medicine physician, Dr. Kao provides primary care for patients of all ages. In addition to diagnosing and treating illness, he provides a wide range of care, including preventive care, routine checkups, health risk assessments, immunizations, screening tests and personalized counseling on maintaining a healthy lifestyle. He has a specific interest in sports medicine, preventive medicine and immunizations.
Dr. Kao completed a three-year residency in family medicine at University of Wyoming Family Practice Program in Cheyenne, Wy. He received a medical degree at the University of Osteopathic Medicine and Health Sciences in Des Moines, Iowa, and completed a fellowship in sports medicine at Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences. He is board certified by the American Osteopathic Board of Medicine and the American Osteopathic Association of Sports Medicine.
A reception for both Dr. Howd and Dr. Kao was scheduled for April 8 at Seneca High School but had to be postponed due to the stay at home order. A new date hasn’t been selected yet.
The phone number for the Seneca Healthcare Center of Morris Hospital will remain the same as Dr. Howd’s office number: 815-357-8511. The office’s website is www.morrishospital.org/seneca.
Serving patients at 25 locations, Morris Hospital & Healthcare Centers includes the 89-bed Morris Hospital, as well as physician offices in Braidwood, Channahon, Diamond-Coal City, Dwight, Gardner, Marseilles, Mazon, Minooka, Morris, Newark, Ottawa, Seneca and Yorkville. The growing number of physician practices in the Morris Hospital & Healthcare Centers network includes specialists in allergy-immunology, cardiology, endocrinology, family medicine, infectious disease, general surgery, internal medicine, neurology, obstetrics & gynecology, pediatrics, sleep medicine and rheumatology. For more information, visit morrishospital.org/hcc.
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