- Morgenstern to Carter (Summer Run) David Morgenstern was the chief of surgery and the head of the ER at County General until 1998 when he was forced to resign after suffering a heart attack. His background was a combination of Scottish and Russian-Jewish. Morgenstern first arrived at County in 1968 as a volunteer in his pre-med days. He was mentored by Dr. Oliver Kosten, a young ER physician whose visions of better patient care eventually translated into an expanded and more functional ER. The character was portrayed by William H. Macy.