New Leadership Team Announced for Clinical Enterprise

On February 16, Dave Spahlinger, M.D., president of the U-M clinical enterprise, announced his new leadership team for the reorganized clinical enterprise.

As Dr. Spahlinger described in January, the clinical enterprise now has three operating units:
(1)    University Hospital/Cardiovascular Center
(2)    Children & Women’s Hospital, and
(3)    U-M Medical Group (including Ambulatory Care).

Each operating unit is led by a physician, nurse and executive administrator and each operating unit is responsible for its own clinical and financial performance. This new structure will enable local leaders to solve problems on a daily basis for our patients and will foster inter-professional collaboration to help improve the quality and safety of our health system. 

The three-person leadership team for each operating unit is as follows:

University Hospital/CVC
o    Jeffrey S. Desmond, MD, Chief Clinical Officer (interim)
o    Shon A. Dwyer, MBA, RN, Executive Director
o    Margaret M. Calarco, PhD, RN, Chief Nursing Officer

Children & Women’s Hospital
o    Chris J. Dickinson, MD, Chief Clinical Officer
o    Paul A. King, MHA, Executive Director
o    Margay Britton, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, Chief Nursing Officer (interim)

U-M Medical Group (including Ambulatory Care)
o    Executive Director & Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs (open position)
o    Connie J. Standiford, MD, Executive Medical Director
o    Jeanne Rizzo, MPH, Chief Operating Officer
o    Nancy May, MSN, RN-BC, NEA-BC, Chief Nursing Officer

The new clinical enterprise also includes system-level leaders who will work across operating units to support strategic initiatives, pursue disruptive opportunities and leverage our strengths to ensure we can operate as effectively as possible.

These system-level leaders include:
•    Steven J. Bernstein, MD, Chief Quality Officer
•    Margaret M. Calarco, PhD, RN, Chief Nurse Executive
•    Thomas Campbell, Associate Vice President, Strategic Planning & Business Development
•    T. Anthony Denton, JD, MHA, Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer
•    Jeffrey S. Desmond, MD, Chief Medical Officer
•    David C. Miller MD, MPH, Medical Director, Strategic Planning & Business Development

Together, these system-wide leaders and operating unit leads make up Dr. Spahlinger’s leadership team for the clinical enterprise as outlined in this org chart. A short bio for each of these individuals can be found here.

This leadership team will be supported by a set of executive committees made up of internal stakeholders (e.g., department chairs and other U-M Health System leaders). The executive committees will help drive operational improvements, assist with priority setting and capital allocation, resolve issues and give stakeholders a forum for input into operations.

Dr. Spahlinger became executive vice dean for clinical affairs in the Medical School and president of the U-M clinical enterprise on January 1, 2016. This new role and his appointment are part of the re-positioning of the Health System announced in September 2015, designed to increase integration and collaboration across our academic medical center. The clinical enterprise includes U-M Medical Group physicians and other health professionals at University Hospital, the Frankel Cardiovascular Center, C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, the Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital, and the many U-M health centers located throughout Michigan.