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THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE
March 31- April 6, 2010 Page B-10
Kweise Mfume takes the helm
Former U.S. Congressman Kweisi Mfume has taken the helm of the National Medical
Association (NMA), the nation’s oldest and largest medical association representing the interests of more than 30,000 African-American physicians and their patients.
A seasoned elected official and prominent civil rights advocate, Mfume brings consid-
erable experience working across organizations to help further the mission of the NMA. The former National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
president and CEO’s in-depth understanding of health disparities in the nation’s health care delivery system led to the formation the National Office of Health Advocacy, created to educate and advocate on behalf of access and affordability in health care.
Mfume also served as a five-term congressman from Maryland’s 7th Congressional Dis- Kweisi Mfume
trict, where he chaired the Joint Economic Committee, the Congressional Black Caucus, and cofounded the Congressional Task Force on Sarcoidosis Disease Awareness.
“I have dedicated my life to ending the economic and social barriers that continue to confront people of color
all across our nation,” Mfume said. “The National Medical Association has been the conscience of the medical profession by making sure that African Americans and the underserved have a voice in their health and health care. We have a long way to go to truly eliminate health disparities, but now is the time to work with, political, medical and community leaders to make that vision real.”
NMA President Willarda V. Edwards, MD, MBA, said, “With such an intense national focus on health policy,
Kweisi Mfume brings significant expertise to our organization that will directly benefit our members as they navi- gate the ever-changing landscape of health care.”
Laura Cox promotes transparency in government
Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano and Commissioner Laura Cox led efforts to
create Wayne County’s newest website, www.waynecounty.com/transparency, aimed at providing an informative, transparent resource to showcase the activities of county gov- ernment.
The easy-to navigate site, which promotes county initiatives, is only the first step in
initiatives to make county government more transparent, according to Cox. The second phase of site development will incorporate new functionality, including key
word search engines. Waynecounty.com/transparency will be continually updated with information regarding budget status and information, financial reports and public notices.
Laura Cox
DMC Vanguard partnership is an investment in Detroit
Detroiters are the winners in the recently
announced DMC/Vanguard New Partnership for Detroit. With an $850 million investment to modernize the hospitals of Detroit Medi- cal Center (DMC), Vanguard is prepared to put the health system on a level playing field locally and nationally and to continue provid- ing quality care for all patients.
In addition, the investment would spur
economic growth with 5,000 jobs in con- struction and development, plus additional employment opportunities for health care and support staff.
“Vanguard’s commitment to DMC and to
the city of Detroit will be the single largest private investment in the city’s history,” said DMC board chair Steve D’Arcy. “It represents great confidence in the future of the city of Detroit.”
Economic factors have been chipping away
at the city’s health care systems for decades. DMC president and CEO Michael Duggan noted that 20 years ago, Detroit had 19 hos- pitals and today has only six. Meanwhile, the growth and construction of super modern hospitals in outlying areas have made for tough competition.
“We’ve had to sit by and watch while West
Bloomfield, Novi and Ann Arbor make huge investments in new modern hospitals and we’ve been frustrated we can’t do the same in the city of Detroit,” Duggan said. “Now we can. Detroit will no longer take a back seat to anyone in the quality of our hospital facili- ties.”
Planned upgrades include:
• A complete makeover of DMC Detroit Re- ceiving Hospital, one of the city’s flagship safety net hospitals
Mary Ann Van Elslander Dr. James M. Fox Dr. Narayanan Vikraman Jane Kay Nugent
St. John Hospital Guild Dinner to honor four, feature comic Sinbad
The Guild of St. John Hospital and Medi-
cal Center will hold its historic 50th Annual Guild Dinner on June 2 at Penna’s of Ster- ling in Sterling Heights, it was announced by Guild president, Edward Deeb. Mr. Deeb is president of Michigan Food and Beverage Association.
The evening’s entertainment will feature
Sinbad a native Detroit comedian, television and movie personality.
More than 1,200 persons are expected
to attend. The funds raised will assist in the fight against cancer by assiting in the purchase of a vital piece of equipment, the C-arm unit, for the St. John Hospital and Medical Center Oncology Department.
Being honored at the Dinner are: James
M. Fox, M.D. of Grosse Pointe Farms, who will receive the Guild Lifetime Achievement Award; Jane Kay Nugent, of Grosse Pointe
Farms, who will receive the Philanthropic Service Award; Dr. Narayanan Vikraman of Grosse Pointe Woods, who will receive the Physician of the Year Award. Mary Ann Van Elslander, of Grosse Pointe Shores will be the recipient of the Sr. Verenice McQuade Distinguished Service Award.
Deeb said The Guild has raised more
than $15 million to assist St. John Hospi- tal and Medical Center since its inception. In addition to those being honored, several major prizes will be raffled off, courtesy of Ray Laetham Pontiac-Buick-GMC, Edmund T. Ahee Jewelers, and Dominic Pangborn.
The Guild has been a catalyst in not only
helping the hospital but in reaching out to the area community, Deeb added.
For tickets/information please contact the Guild office (313) 343-3674.
• A new 175,000 square foot DMC Children’s Hospital of Michigan and a new four-story Pediatric Specialty Center
• A new Heart Hospital, the DMC Cardiovas- cular Institute
• Expansion and upgrades for DMC Sinai- Grace Hospital in northwest Detroit, includ-
ing a new 60,000 square-foot Patient Care Ambulatory Center and new, state-of-the-art intensive care unit beds
• Millions of dollars in additional upgrades to DMC Harper University/Hutzel Women’s Hospital, and the Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan
The investment would also provide capi-
tal funds for the purchase of the newest and most technologically advanced medical equipment.
DMC Sinai-Grace Hospital’s president,
Conrad Mallett, called the announcement a “great day” for his hospital and the entire DMC. “This is going to allow us to deliver to the people who live in northwest Detroit and frankly in Southeast Michigan the care they deserve.” he said. “The community is abso- lutely thrilled.”
Vanguard has committed to maintaining
DMC’s historic commitment to indigent care and to continue health and wellness programs and community outreach. DMC’s Supplier Di- versity Program, which provides opportuni- ties for minority-owned, women-owned and Detroit-based businesses, will be honored.
Mayor Dave Bing applauded the partner-
ship announcement. “We are elated that someone from the out-
side looks at Detroit as a place where they can make an investment and get a return on the investment,” the mayor said. “I think it will send a message around the country that we as a city are open for business.”
“I’m excited about this partnership and
what it will mean to our patients, our physi- cians and staff, and to our city,” said Duggan. “Vanguard has shown its commitment to urban health care and believes in our poten- tial to become one of the elite health care sys- tems in America.”
For more information on the DMC Van-
guard Partnership and the planned hospital projects, visit DMC.org/New Partnership.
WCCCD posts salaries on Web Site
Wayne County Community College District
(WCCCD) has continued to provide the most trans- parent and open communication among community colleges in the nation by posting all personnel deci- sions -- including salaries -- on its Web site.
At the March 24, WCCCD Board of Trustees
meeting, Chancellor Curtis L. Ivery announced: “We believe that by providing more detailed information about all of our personnel decisions, including hires, staff transfer and re-assignments, and salaries, we are further demonstrating our commitment to ac- countability to the citizens of the District who provide support through their tax dollars.”
WCCCD currently provides a comprehensive
web-based transparency program to a wide variety of financial documents, including monthly financial reports, Board of Trustees reports and audit reports. The new personnel transparency initiative will con- tain various workgroup categories, a generic organi- zational chart, seniority lists and more.
Its Transparency & Accountability Initiative, imple-
mented in 2005, gained national attention among higher learning institutions and have proven to be one of the most valuable management tools in ensur- ing the responsible execution of strategic plans.
Wayne County Community College District is one
of the fasted growing community colleges in the nation averaging more than 70,000 credit and non- credit students per semester.
Area leaders
support ‘Through African Eyes’ exhibit
The Friends of African and
African American Art (FAAAA) board and the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) will present the “Through African Eyes: The European in African Art, 1500 to Present” exhibit, which il- lustrates how African artists visually expressed the dynamic interactions between African cultures and Europeans and Westerners over 500 years. The exhibit will run April 18-Aug. 8.
The exhibition will feature
The Friends of African, African American Art (FAAAA) board of directors. Seated (from left) are Margaret Demant, Jane Cleveland, Judith Wyche, Roxane Whitter Thomas, FAAAA chair; Catherine Blackwell, and *Samuel Thomas. Second row (from left) are RosEurek Fagin, Leslie Williams, Ellen Kahn, Laydell Wood Wyatt, Barbara Gaber, *Doris Syfax Rhea, Shawneen Murray, Helen Franklin, Nii Quarcoopome, DIA curator, African, Oceanic, Indigenous Americas Art; Paralee G. Day and Julian Bass. Third row (from left) are Valerie Mercer, DIA-GM Center curator, African American Art; Kimberly Trent, Garrett Barnett, *Vivian Rogers Pickard, Jeannette Dickens-Hale, Bennett Wyche, Leslie Graves and Catherine Talifer, DIA development officer. Not pictured are Pamela Alexander, *Charles W. Anderson, Hugh Barrington Jr., John Bolden, Marlene Chavis, *Dexter Fields, Lynn Kelley, Barbara Straughn Mallett, Robert E. L. Perkins, *Sharon Madison Polk, Gregory J. Reed, Irving Riley, Gail Ross, Gail Smith, Beverly Thomas, Roslyn Trotter, Marilyn Williams White and
Marquis Woody. (*Past chairs of FAAAA still serving the organization.)
approximately 100 figurative sculptures and utilitarian ob- jects created in wood, ivory, metals and textiles from the holdings of the DIA and other leading American and interna- tional museums and private collections. It presents Africa as a multiplicity of cultures, each with a different history of relations with Europeans. In all, more than 20 African coun- tries are represented, includ- ing Ghana, Mali, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Camer- oon, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
“We are eagerly anticipating
this groundbreaking exhibi- tion,” said Graham W. J. Beal, DIA director. “Nii Quarcoopome, our curator of African art, has
been conducting research and gathering objects for the exhibi- tion for a number of years, and new scholarship resulting from Nii’s efforts have added a wel- come dimension to the field of African art studies.”
“Through African Eyes”
provides riveting visual com- mentaries on five centuries of interactions between Africans and Europeans and Westerners, from the first contacts to early trade relations, to European settlements and subsequent colonization, and then to the post-independence interactions with the West. The objects re- flect how African artists per- ceived shifts in their cultures’ relationships with Europeans.
“Through African” Eyes is
the first art exhibition on the subject to foreground African points of view in its interpreta- tion. African voices will provide additional perspectives on the meanings of the objects and motivations behind their cre- ation. Visitors will be able to access recorded oral histories and personal experiences of Af- rican elders and artists, quotes from historical and literary sources, and video commentar- ies from Africans living in Africa and the U.S.
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