Memorial Health Board Member Diane Rutledge: First Citizen of Springfield

It was no surprise to colleagues and board members of Memorial Health when the First Citizen of Springfield award committee recognized Dr. Diane Rutledge as the 2025 First Citizen in November last year.

“Throughout her life, Dr. Rutledge has had a profound influence on generations of educators and students alike,” the First Citizen Award committee wrote. “Her leadership has elevated institutions, strengthened community programs and inspired countless others to serve with the same passion and purpose.”

Rutledge served many years on the board of directors for Springfield Memorial Hospital and continues to serve with distinction on the Memorial Health board of directors.

“She is passionate about people,” said Todd Wise, former MH board president. “When Diane executes her responsibilities, she thinks about people first and how her actions will impact people.”

The longtime educator, school administrator and community volunteer has spent more than five decades sharing that passion for people and her extensive leadership skills with organizations throughout central Illinois, including Memorial Health.

“As a health system, we touch and impact all of our communities,” Rutledge said. “Besides being a premiere healthcare provider, we collaborate with city, state and federal government, our school districts, law enforcement agencies, mental health professionals, higher education and more. All of this leads to the importance of healthcare in our community. As an employer, a provider, a partner and a leader, Memorial is all of these and more.”

Rutledge began her career as a teacher at Dubois Elementary in Springfield, later becoming superintendent of Springfield Public Schools District 186. More than two dozen community boards and organizations besides Memorial Health have benefited from her leadership including United Way of Central Illinois, Boys and Girls Club of Central Illinois and the Community Foundation for the Land of Lincoln.

Past MH board chair Randy Germeraad also serves with Rutledge on other local boards and has seen her “all-in” approach firsthand. He is particularly appreciative of the perspective she brings to the Memorial board’s Workforce Committee.

“The knowledge she brings to that committee has helped with ongoing changes in the workforce,” he said. “Her experience as the former superintendent of Springfield District 186 with thousands of employees gave her a unique large-employer perspective similar to the health system. She has been engaged and understands current workforce demands.”

Wise credits Rutledge with advocating for a new Child Care Center on the Springfield campus, which opened in 2023. The 34,000-square-foot facility doubled the capacity of the former center and included 18 classrooms, a kitchen with a teaching area, an administrative wing and four designated playgrounds with state-of-the-art equipment.

“Diane saw the need for that and was very excited to champion that project,” Wise said. “She recognized our colleagues had a need for an expanded facility.”

One of Rutledge’s favorite hospital-based initiatives was a Books for Babies project when she worked with the Springfield Memorial Foundation to fund a book giveaway for new babies – an initiative that combined her love for education with a practical way to encourage families to read with their children.

“I loved the idea that every baby born in our hospital would go home with our support to become a family of readers,” Rutledge said.

She also served as board chair during a pivotal time when Decatur Memorial Hospital joined the Memorial Health system. She credits that transition with solidifying the organization’s efforts to become a true system, leading to a new strategic way of thinking.

As healthcare needs continue to evolve, Memorial Health remains an important anchor in the region.

“Our system touches and impacts a huge part of our communities,” Rutledge said. “To be a part of that is meaningful and impactful.”