Henry Ford Health

With our exciting Destination: Grand Detroit hospital expansion project now underway, along with the launch of our joint venture with Ascension and growing physician enterprise, Steven Kalkanis MD's current role as our Executive Vice President & CEO of the Henry Ford Medical Group and Henry Ford Hospital is expected to grow exponentially in the coming year and beyond. In his role, Dr. Kalkanis will be championing advanced cutting-edge care and centers of excellence to define the future of health for our nation and beyond. After an extensive national search, Dr. Kalkanis was named the CEO of our Henry Ford Medical Group in 2020. He assumed the role of CEO of Henry Ford Hospital in 2023 - marking the first time in our history that our primary academic and complex care hub and medical group are under singular physician leadership. Before taking over as CEO, Dr. Kalkanis served as professor and chair of our Department of Neurosurgery and co-director of our Neuroscience Institute at Henry Ford Hospital, where he also served as the founding Medical Director of the Henry Ford Cancer service line, one of the largest in the country, and oversaw the building of the new Brigitte Harris Cancer Pavilion. Among his countless accomplishments, he and his team also spearheaded one of the country’s most comprehensive precision medicine and molecular tumor board programs for all cancer types. Dr. Kalkanis joined Henry Ford in 2004 after completing his neurosurgical training at Massachusetts General Hospital. He graduated with highest honors from Harvard University, where he was awarded the John Harvard Scholarship, and then Harvard Medical School, where he served as class marshal and received the Linnane Prize for highest academic achievement. He also is a past president of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, the largest neurosurgical association in the world, and former director of the American Board of Neurological Surgery, the accrediting body for all U.S. neurosurgeons. Dr. Kalkanis currently is active in the Michigan Hospital Association and the American Medical Group Association leadership committees.

We've been in Detroit for over 100 years and we're committed to being here for the next 💯.

Stronger together. 💙 Last week our leadership team gave a warm welcome to our new team members who are part of our joint venture with Ascension Michigan. We couldn’t be more proud to be 50,000 strong!

Hey Hockeytown, it's opening night! Our team members showed their spirit today to cheer on our new partners, the Detroit Red Wings, as they kick off their season. #LGRW ❤️🏒

To reflect our growing organization, we are proud to share that Adnan Munkarah, MD will serve as our President, Clinical Enterprise & Chief Physician Executive. He is now the primary accountable executive leader for the success of our entire care delivery system - stewarding systemwide growth, excellence, innovation, and efficiency to further elevate clinicians' roles in our leadership approach. "A gifted leader and trusted collaborator, Adnan has a unique understanding of the entire healthcare continuum – from primary and population health to complex and specialty care – and everything it takes to grow, elevate and coordinate clinical services and operations across that spectrum," said our President & CEO Robert Riney. Clinical services, including specialty service lines, primary health, medical groups, physician networks and partnerships, nursing, quality and safety, and academics will all continue to report to Dr. Munkarah in this expanded role. Congratulations, Dr. Munkarah!

Bigger family, same commitment! ICYMI: Last week, we welcomed 17,000+ new team members into Henry Ford Health. 🎉 Interested in joining our team? Email [email protected]

Starting their careers in 1974, medical laboratory scientists and friends Elizabeth (Betsy) VanZandt and Pat Karasinski experienced first-hand the incredible advancements in their field over the past 50 years. "Back then, most testing was done manually, meaning that a blood sample and the reagent would have to be added together by hand," explained Pat. "Specimens were logged into the ledger then we’d identify the infectious organism and test for antibiotic sensitivity. We’d then write the results on the patient tags to go back to the doctor," added Betsy. As time went on, automation and the introduction of the computer into the lab allowed more advanced testing to be done in a shorter amount of time. "Where we once tested under 50 samples per day for a specific test, we now can do over 300 samples for that same test," said Betsy. "We're able to identify viruses on a DNA level. It used to take us several weeks to grow and identify a virus, but now can be done in a matter of hours." "I started at Henry Ford in microbiology where diseases and infections caused by bacteria, fungus and parasites are identified and antibiotic sensitives are run to check the antibiotic needed for treatment," explained Betsy. "Now I'm working in the serology section where we identify viruses using DNA testing and run tests for DNA viral loads for monitoring treatment for viruses such as Hepatitis C, HIV and Cytomegalovirus." While Pat retired earlier this summer, Betsy continues her work and recently celebrated 50 years at our Detroit hospital! Congratulations to Pat & Betsy. 👩🔬

We're excited to share that we've launched a new subsidiary dedicated to advancing population health. The new company - Populance - supports doctors, hospitals and health plans by providing value-based care services designed to improve healthcare outcomes and enhance the patient experience while lowering the total cost of care. “Healthcare consumers and employers continue to be challenged with the cost of care,” said Robin Damschroder, FACHE, our President of Value-Based Enterprise and Chief Financial Officer. “Yet despite increased spending nationally, health outcomes have not improved for all populations in our communities. Populance helps identify and bridge these gaps in care.” Populance offers a suite of population health management services, including care management, patient monitoring and digital outreach tools, to help physicians more effectively manage the care of patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, congestive heart failure and COPD. The services are increasingly valuable as more and more insurers adopt value-based care payment models, which compensate healthcare providers for the quality of care they provide, rather than the number of services they deliver. Since the early 2000s, our team and our subsidiary nonprofit health insurance company, Health Alliance Plan, have developed dozens of successful programs designed to help patients and members manage a variety of chronic conditions. Populance combines this expertise into a new organization. The health system was also an early advocate for value-based care, for which many of these programs are designed. Populance services are designed to reduce hospitalizations, readmissions and ER visits while enhancing and maximizing the patient’s time at home. Populance uses health analytics to identify and close gaps in care for high-risk patients.

We are happy to share that Denise Brooks-Williams has been promoted to the role of EVP & Chief Operating Officer to ensure the success of our systemwide care delivery system. Reporting to Denise will be regional and hospital leadership, ambulatory operations, supply chain, and facility and support services. "I am so grateful for the expertise Denise has already brought to this area and I’m thrilled for the opportunity to further promote her," said our President & CEO Robert Riney. Denise began her career in 2013 as the President and CEO of Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital and was named Executive Vice President & CEO, Care Delivery System Operations in 2023. She is the immediate past Chair of the University of Michigan Health Management and Policy Alumni Association. She is a board member and treasurer for Authority Health and serves on the Quality Committee of Bon Secours, Mercy Health. Further involvement includes the Detroit Wayne County Health Authority. Beyond her professional responsibilities, Denise is deeply committed to community service and equity in healthcare. She serves on the boards of Authority Health, Detroit Institute of Arts, Teach for America, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, among others. Denise’s leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly on Michigan’s Governor’s Task Force on Racial Disparities, significantly reduced mortality rates among African Americans. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in health services administration from the University of Michigan and is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. Denise’s dedication to advancing healthcare and her community exemplifies her impact and influence. Congratulations, Denise!

We’re proud to share that we’ve been chosen as the official team physicians of the Detroit Red Wings! 🏒❤️