FROM THE CHAIR

The Department continues to be extraordinarily productive in all its missions. It is very exciting to be a part of this and to see all the wonderful things that are happening, both at the faculty and resident levels.

In the clinical arena, we continue to be a national leader in establishing the Patient-Centered Medical Home in Family Medicine. We are diligently working to elevate this to a new level, under the leadership of Jean M. Malouin, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor, and Lee A. Green, M.D., M.P.H., professor. Dr. Malouin is also the lead for the state of Michigan’s federally funded primary care transformation demonstration project, which is the largest one in the country with almost 500 individual practices being involved.  Additionally, we continue to maintain five busy clinics and four inpatient services, all of which participate in teaching.

Educationally, the Department provides highly-rated teaching at all levels. Our medical student clerkship, under the guidance of Joel J. Heidelbaugh, M.D., associate professor, and Kent J. Sheets, Ph.D., professor, remains the highest rated clerkship in the medical school. Our national renowned residency program, under the leadership of James M. Cooke, M.D., assistant professor, is gearing up for a Residency Review Committee site visit this spring, and is seeing a 20% increase in applications from U.S. medical school applicants. The Department’s six fellowship programs are likewise receiving significant interest from multiple applicants, and we are currently evaluating the feasibility of a seventh fellowship in observation medicine. And, our Continuing Medical Education programs continue to have strong attendance and high ratings, despite the difficult economy. This is a testimony to the high-quality of our faculty.

The Department’s research programs are  robust, under the leadership of Mack T. Ruffin IV, M.D., M.P.H., professor, who was recently installed as the Dr. Max and Buena Lichter Research Professor in Family Medicine. We have had great success in NIH grant funding and the results of some of our recent publications have received significant national press due to the importance of the findings. Moreover, faculty, both tenure and clinical track, present at various regional, national and international forums.

Last, but not least, our commitment to the community and global health remains firm. Faculty and residents are involved in caring for the underserved with multiple local and international organizations.  Internationally, we continue to provide consultations and advice to Family Medicine programs and governmental entities in countries such as Japan,under the leadership of Michael D. Fetters, M.D., M.P.H., M.A., associate professor and director of the Japanese Family Health Program, and Ghana under the leadership of William E. Chavey II, M.D., M.S., associate professor.

The national search for the new department chair is progressing well. The search committee has found multiple applicants, and interviews have begun. 

This is a great time to be a family physician. There are so many opportunities to help provide better health for the people of our community and world. As always, I would love to hear any of your thoughts or suggestions.

- Philip Zazove, M.D., Professor and Interim Chair

CURRENT DEPARTMENT NEWS

See the Department of Family Medicine Fall 2011 Newsletter.

April 3, 2012: 2013 U.S. News & World Report Ranking

The U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate School completed their 2013 rankings, and the Department is pleased to announce that it is ranked 7th in the nation in family medicine training. The Department has received consistently high ratings for more than ten years.
  
The U-M’s overall rank as a primary care training school is rising from 20th last year to 8th this year, largely on the strength of the number of graduates going into primary care.

“It is very gratifying to see that our excellence in patient care, education and research continues to be highly recognized despite the fact we currently are undergoing a national search for a permanent chair. We are so lucky to have such a large number of superb faculty, fellows and residents who make us so successful in so many ways,” says Philip Zazove, M.D., professor and interim chair.

To learn more, visit the U.S. News & World Report or the UMHS Newsroom.

March 22, 2012:

Dexter Family Medicine Helps with Tornado Relief Efforts

The faculty and staff at Dexter Family Medicine have always been very active in their community. With the recent tornadoes that hit the village, they again show their commitment and dedication to the people of Dexter. In addition to regular patient care, they have started a support group open to anyone affected by the storm.

The support group starts this Friday, March 23, 2012, at 6 p.m. in the lobby located at 7300 Dexter-Ann Arbor Road, Dexter, Mich., 48130.

Sue Pellerito, M.S.W., social worker, has volunteered to lead this group, and she will be joined by a representative from the American Red Cross. She is part of the U-M Ambulatory Social Work Group, and has been the on-site social worker at Dexter Family Medicine since 2010. While she is there on Fridays each week, her role is to provide whatever social work services are needed, from individual short-term supportive therapy to connecting people with all manner of resources, including supportive therapy.

Medical director, Kathryn M. Harmes, M.D., lecturer, says, “Local agencies have been working hard on relief efforts, and we wanted to find a unique way to participate and serve the community we love so much.  Many of our employees live in Dexter and have been affected as well as our patients.   We are very fortunate to have been relatively unaffected despite being so close to the most heavily damaged neighborhood.”

Read more about Dexter Family Medicine's efforts in providing support on the Patient Care page.

February 6, 2012:

Integrative Medicine Conference: Creating Wellness an Integrative Approach

Registration is currently open for this course, which is designed to provide an evidence-based update on integrative approaches to common health concerns for practicing primary care providers. The conference will be held on March 29 and 30 at Kensington Court in Ann Arbor.

Integrative Medicine is the sythesis of conventional medicine with evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine therapies. It is a philosophy and a way of providing health care that reaffirms the importance of the relationship between practicioner and patient, focuses on the whole person, is informed by evidence, and makes use of all appropriate therapeutic approaches, healthcare professionals and disciplines to achieve optimal health and healing. Intergrative Medicine focuses on promoting wellness within the patient, as well as the provider.

Visit MAFP for more information and to register.

January 12, 2012:

In an article entitled, "From Milan to Marquette," Medicine at Michigan highlights the careers of several physicians who studied at U-M and decided to practice medicine right here in Michigan. The article features Carla Zahuranec, M.D. (Residency 2008), who now practices in the Milan office of IHA. "The U-M has a top family medicine residency program. It's a good combination of bread-and-butter family medicine and tertiary care, and academic hospital experience," said Dr. Zahuranec.

The article states, "Though she’s wanted to work in medicine as long as she can remember — first as a nurse and then as a physician — it was, in part, her mother’s death of a pulmonary embolism when Zahuranec was six years old that inspired her career in family medicine. 'I wanted to help create more opportunities for parents and grandparents,' she says — improving health, extending life, allowing families to stay together longer."

Read the complete article in Medicine at Michigan.

December 15, 2011: Family Medicine in the News

Mack T. Ruffin IV, M.D., M.P.H., along with with his wife, Kathy Carter, and sons, Noah and Sean, celebrate at the installation ceremony.

Mack T. Ruffin IV, M.D., M.P.H., the Dr. Max and Buena Lichter Research Professor in Family Medicine, was featured in an article in the Chelsea Standard.

The article states, "Chelsea resident Dr. Mack Ruffin was honored at the Nov. 21 installation ceremony of the Dr. Max and Buena Lichter Research Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Michigan Department of Family Medicine. Established in 2007 through a gift from Dr. Allen and Evie Lichter and Dr. Paul and Carolyn Lichter, the professorship honors the memory of their father, Dr. Max Lichter, a family physician who practiced in Melvindale for five decades and their mother, Buena Lichter." Read more in the Chelsea Standard.

December 15, 2011: Event

Darrell G. Kirch, M.D. President and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) presented "Can Anyone Fix Health Care?" at Family Medicine's Grand Rounds on December 14.

A distinguished physician, educator, and medical scientist, Dr. Kirch speaks and publishes widely on the need for transformation in the nation's health care system and how academic medicine can lead that change across medical education, biomedical research, and patient care.

In his presentation, Dr. Kirch addressed what we must do as an institution, a community, and a nation to fix the crisis in American health care.

Novmeber 22, 2011: Dr. Mack Ruffin Appointed as Dr. Max and Buena Lichter Research Professor

Mack T. Ruffin IV, M.D., M.P.H., was recently honored at the installation ceremony of the Dr. Max and Buena Lichter Research Professor of Family Medicine.

The Dr. Max and Buena Lichter Research Professorship in Family Medicine was established in 2007 through a generous gift from Dr. Allen and Evie Lichter and Dr. Paul and Carolyn Lichter. The installation ceremony was held on November 21, 2011. This professorship honors the memory of their father, Dr. Max Lichter, a family physician who practiced in Melvindale, a Detroit suburb, for five decades and their mother, Buena Lichter, and is intended to encourage and support research in family medicine.

Read more on the Research page.

September 26, 2011: Research Subjects Needed

The Department, in conjunction with U-M Integrative Medicine, is looking for individuals to particpate in a research study about the effects of tart cherries.

Potential subjects must:

• Be 18 years or older
• Be able to provide their own transportation
• Be overweight or obese
• Have abnormal cholesterol levels
• Have high blood pressure
• Be willing to consume 45 tart cherries twice a day for 28 days

Participants will:

• Participate in two 5-hour stays at the Michigan Clinical Research Unit (MCRU)
• Have blood drawn on the first and last days of the 28-day study
• Be paid up to $250 for their participation

For more information, please contact the research team at (866) 219-9100 or umcherry2011@umich.edu.

September 19, 2011: Congratulations to Dexter Family Medicine!
  
As a result of the May 2011 patient satisfaction survey, Dexter Family Medicine has been ranked among the “Top Patient Satisfaction Scores.”

The Health System’s Ambulatory Care Administration honored the health center this achievement in September.

Philip Zazove, M.D., professor and interim chair says, “I am so pleased that Dexter Family Medicine received such high patient satisfaction scores. The honor is well deserved and is a testimony to the wonderful work that our faculty and staff do every day, not only at Dexter but at all our sites.”

Thank you for your outstanding service to UMHS patients!

See the News section of this site for more news.