
Henry Ford Health System in Detroit today announced it intends to partner with Michigan State University to meet its goal of aligning with a major academic institution that it deems critical to its mission of providing excellent care and achieving long-term strategic goals.
The two institutions have signed a letter of intent to significantly expand the partnership, which they cite as “a unique primary affiliation committed to accelerating health care transformation in three core areas of research, clinical care, and medical education,” according to a joint statement from Wright L. Lassiter III, president and CEO of Henry Ford Health System, and Mary Jane Vogt, senior vice president and chief development officer at HFHS.
The partnership, they say, will evolve over time and has several hallmark elements including:
- A shared research enterprise and long-term goal to build a Research Institute in Detroit.
- A joint cancer program working to achieve National Cancer Institute (NCI) designation, with options for additional clinical integration including partnering with HAP on innovative care models.
- Expanded education opportunities for physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals, focused on diversity, recruitment and retention, and revolutionized training models.
The partnership and the opportunities it creates could not come at a more pivotal time, they add. “As health care leaders, we must push ourselves every day to expand the limits of innovation and discovery for those we serve,” the statement reads.
“We will now work toward a series of definitive agreements which we hope to finalize this fall. Given the widespread financial impact of COVID-19, we will take a thoughtful approach, prioritizing our goals over time. We will also actively pursue joint philanthropic efforts and public-private partnership funding sources that are mutually aligned with our strategic goals and values.”
“Both the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing injustices and recent protests in cities across our nation have amplified the importance and urgency of dramatically improving access, affordability, and outcomes, especially for our most vulnerable populations,” according to the joint statement.