A few years ago, my husband and I took our children with us on a medical mission to Kenya. We wanted to expose them to the realities of life in less privileged communities, where daily meals, shelter, shoes, basic medical care and education – things we might take for granted – are not readily available.

One night, our children sat at the communal dinner table with the young doctors and medical students on the mission. Mark and I sat at a distance and listened as the group talked about what they would do if given $10,000. With great enthusiasm, they talked about how they could save the world with that money by using it to buy food, medical supplies, clothing and bare essentials for members of impoverished communities. Read the rest of this entry »

A message from Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs Ora Hirsch Pescovitz, M.D., Hospitals & Health Centers CEO Doug Strong, and Medical School Dean James O. Woolliscroft, M.D.

Every day, thousands of patients and families put their trust in us to provide the very best care we can give in the best environment we can create.

That is part of creating the ideal patient care experience and it includes a trust that we will protect them from infection while they are here.

We’re pleased to announce an enhancement to our infection control policy that will help us fulfill this promise to our patients and protect them from a disease that can be dangerous or deadly to vulnerable people. Read the rest of this entry »

A message from Ora Pescovitz, M.D., Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs and CEO, UMHS, and Doug Strong, CEO, U-M Hospitals & Health Centers

Today in Grand Rapids, we were pleased to announce the formation of a new alliance that will help hospitals in the western and northern regions of our state remain independent, and allow their patients better access to our excellent advanced specialty care.

The new Pennant Health Alliance, as it is called, includes UMHS, Metro Health in Grand Rapids and five west Michigan hospitals of the Trinity Health system. Over time, we hope it will grow to include more independent hospitals. Read the rest of this entry »

A message from Ora Hirsch Pescovitz, M.D., Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs, U-M, and CEO, UMHS

Where does our Health System stand? Where are we going? How will we confront the challenges we face?

I invite you to join me on Wednesday, Sept. 29, from 5:15-6:15 p.m. in Ford Amphitheater at University Hospital for my first State of the Health System presentation.

For those of you who aren’t able to attend in person, please take advantage of one of these other viewing options: Read the rest of this entry »