The president of Corewell Health East spoke during Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine’s Medical Education Week and made one thing clear— the school factors prominently into the health system’s future.
Ben Schwartz, M.D., MHCM, presented the 2023 William Davidson Lecture as part of OUWB’s 12th Annual Medical Education Week. About 200 people attended the session in person and online.
Schwartz talked about the direction of the health system, his approach to management, and the importance of training the next generation of physicians.
He also spoke at length about how OUWB plays into the future of the health system.
“It’s important for us to say out loud how important OUWB is to us and that we need to work on building that relationship and making it even stronger,” he said.
Doug Gould, Ph.D., chair, Department of Foundational Medical Studies, said he was impressed by Schwartz’s message.
“He’s the first leader to flat out say that OUWB is one of the top medical schools for Corewell Health East,” he said. “It was really refreshing to hear. It gives me a lot of confidence.”
‘An increasingly strong collaboration’
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| Sandor H. Shoichet, M.D., FACP, program director, Internal Medicine Residency and Medical Director of Outpatient Clinics at Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital, and Schwartz. |
Schwartz kicked off his presentation by talking about the overall need for the health system to continue working towards becoming the best place to get care, to work, and to train the next generation of physicians.
Much of that will rely on the various stakeholders being open to embracing technology and change, he said, and to do so without sacrificing humanism in health care.
“We have to be willing to accept that what got us here is not going to get us there,” he said in reference to the health system’s future.
Such acceptance, he said, will go a long way in allowing the health system to, among other things, address health equity and social determinants of health in southeast Michigan — and in a way “the whole world will see and will learn from.”
Much of that will rest largely on the shoulders of future physicians, he said. He noted the importance of diversity among those next gen doctors, too.
“If we don’t generate a diverse provider group that looks, sounds, and has the same beliefs and cultural norms as (those in) the communities that we take care of, there’s always going to be a disconnect,” he said.
Schwartz also stressed the importance of being aware of the “enormous gap” between the projected number of health care providers and demand for service.
Awareness of the projected shortfall and the need for a diverse set of providers are just two examples of why Schwartz said it’s so important to work on furthering the relationship with OUWB. (In 2021, Oakland University and what is now Corewell Health extended their affiliation agreement for 20 years.)
Schwartz appears to be leading by example.
Most recently, he was the featured speaker at the OUWB Class of 2023 commencement. He also spoke at the OUWB Match Day event in March, and at the OUWB Class of 2026 White Coat Ceremony last August.
But the commitment to OUWB goes well beyond the public appearances.
Through “an increasingly strong collaboration,” Schwartz offered a behind-the-scenes glimpse into how Corewell Health and OUWB are working together.
For example, Schwartz added Duane Mezwa, M.D., Stephan Sharf Dean, OUWB, to his senior leadership team.
“I felt it was critically important that any decisions that were made in that room…that (the dean) has line of sight of the changes that are coming, but more importantly, that they were a voice,” he said.
Schwartz said it was important to note that Mezwa serves as a voice for students as well as faculty. He noted that Corewell Health is participating in the selection of Mezwa’s successor. (Mezwa has announced plans to retire at the end of summer.)
In another sign of the commitment to OUWB, Schwartz talked about the potential for a new medical education campus.
The OUWB 2022-25 Strategic Plan calls for officials to “formulate and commit to a plan for a new medical school building to meet OUWB’s long-term needs.” Specifics, such as where and when, have not been disclosed.
Further, such plans appear to be several years away as the school is in the early stages of a $9.7 million renovation project for O’Dowd Hall, on the campus of Oakland University.
Should conversations about a new campus come to fruition, Schwartz said the plan will be to get input from as many people as possible on key questions, such as: what would the campus look like; would it be just medical students or other types of health care providers; and how might the general evolution of medical education affect any plans?
“We’re going to need feedback from everybody all over to tell us what that looks like,” he said. “I’m here to ask you to be engaged in that process when we start to have those conversations.”
‘A signal achievement’
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| Pierre Morris, M.D., associate dean for Clinical Education at OUWB, was among those who attended the lecture and asked questions. |
Attendees of the presentation by Schwartz were very engaged, and asked questions about numerous topics, including the potential to expand the number of trainees within the health system and how diversity, equity, and inclusion factors into everything.
The ability for faculty to ask questions and Schwartz’s presentation fall in line with the overall mission of OUWB’s Medical Education Week, according to Sandor H. Shoichet, M.D., FACP, program director, Internal Medicine Residency and Medical Director of Outpatient Clinics at Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital, and associate professor of medicine at OUWB.
The week featured 19 sessions and more than 21 hours of programming. Nearly 700 people attended the sessions that were held online and in person.
Shoichet co-chairs Medical Education Week with Ann Voorheis-Sargent, Ph.D., director, OUWB Center for Excellence in Medical Education (CEME).
“The beauty of it is that Dr. Schwartz has really put a premium on getting the medical school front and center and involved in the brain trust of the hospital,” he said.
“To get (Corewell) to understand that it has a vested interest in the success of the school is a signal achievement.”
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