General Surgeon Todd Bierman, MD, is excited to return to his roots as he begins his medical career providing a wide range of surgical services to area residents.
He recently joined surgeons Curtis Green, DO, Kellie Jones-Monahan, MD, and Brad Wilson, MD at the Sarah Bush Lincoln Surgery Clinic. Dr. Bierman will be seeing patients at the SBL Evergreen Clinic in Effingham, as well.
The youngest of five children, Dr. Bierman grew up on a farm near Dieterich, approximately 38 miles south of Mattoon. He graduated from Newton High School in 2006 and enrolled in Lake Land College. While he was earning his associate’s degree, Dr. Bierman delivered pizzas for Villa Pizza in Mattoon. “I started out with an interest in engineering, but I quickly discovered that I liked biology more than math,” he said.
With thoughts of pursuing a career in medicine, Dr. Bierman enrolled in St. Louis University, from which he earned a bachelor’s degree in biology. He then entered the University of Illinois Chicago Rural Medicine Program. During Dr. Bierman’s family medicine rotation, he spent 16 weeks at Sarah Bush Lincoln, working alongside the much-loved but now-retired Family Practice Physician Robert Wochner, MD. “It was a great experience, and I’m grateful to Dr. Wochner for taking me under his wing,” he said.
During Dr. Bierman’s third year of medical school, he found the “hands-on” patient care associated with surgery to be very appealing. “I really enjoyed working with my hands and being able to fix a problem and make someone immediately feel better. It’s very rewarding to be able to help people in such a tangible way,” he said.
Dr. Bierman then completed a five-year general surgery residency at the University of South Alabama Medical Center in Mobile, where he gained a vast amount of experience working in a Level 1 Trauma Center. He was selected by faculty as Administrative Chief Resident during his final year in 2018. “I feel good about the training I received. It was very broad, so I’m very comfortable doing many types of surgical procedures including laparoscopic and robotic surgeries,” he said.
Dr. Bierman’s goal is to be the best surgeon he can be, while educating people and helping them decide the best course of treatment. He credits his upbringing on the farm for giving him the work ethic he needed to endure nine long years of intense medical and surgical training. As a general surgeon, he performs a wide range of surgical procedures to treat many conditions. “My approach is simply to treat all patients like they are family members. I try to put myself in their shoes and make them as comfortable as possible,” he said. “It’s important to help people understand their options in order for them to make decisions that they are comfortable with.”
He added, “What I like the best is checking on the patients that I operated on the previous day and seeing that they are doing well and feeling good. That is ultimately why I decided to go into healthcare: to help people.”
Dr. Bierman looks forward to establishing strong relationships with patients and making a significant difference by improving people’s lives through surgery. He is also excited to be closer to family and friends. When he is not working, Dr. Bierman enjoys building furniture, riding horses and watching the Chicago Cubs.
For more information or to make an appointment with Dr. Bierman, call the SBL Surgery Clinic at 217-258-4020.