Happy National Doctor’s Day 2024!
Doctors' Day is celebrated on March 30 every year. On this day, we honor you. I want to take a moment to pause and thank each and every one of my physician colleagues for the continued support, empathy, and kindness you show every day to our patients and staff.
As we reflect on this past year, we commemorate the many accomplishments of our physicians. To name a few, Dr. St.Hilaire reached a milestone of his 1,000 general surgery robotic case; Dr. Shah performed his first CardioMEMS procedure - a new implanted heart failure device; Dr. Knepper, along with Dr. Lin & Chen, MSU Health Care vascular surgeons through a MGL collaborative, put MGL on the map in the Midwest, being the first to use augmented artificial intelligence (AI) technology, known as Cydar Maps, for aneurysm repairs; Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital (part of Cornwell Health) brought pediatric sub-specialty care to children in the Lansing region; Dr. Wes Mesko, orthopedics, led MARCQI - a quality collaborative - to achieve 100 points on our pay for performance (third year in a row); Hospital Medicine Safety, quality initiative was recognized state-wide for decreased antibiotic utilization in asymptomatic bacteriuria; Blue Distinction was achieved by for our Maternity Care; and stroke & trauma surveys were completed. Among the many other accomplishments we’ve seen through this past year, our Graduate Medical Education continued to train over 100 residents, 23 fellows, 37+ MSUCOM base students and many other trainees have returned to our campus since COVID (now four years ago).
In addition, our hospital has continued to expand in this region continuing our mission to provide safe, high-quality health care to our community, with the opening of the Izzo Family Medical Center, a multi-specialty medical office building that includes leading-edge diagnostic imaging capabilities through our partnership with MSU Health Care, making it the largest imaging facility in mid-Michigan. Last week, our CEO and President, Kirk Ray, announced the development of an ambulatory campus, anchored by a freestanding emergency department, in the Grand Ledge/Delta Township area, opening in Fall 2025. Lastly, our medical staff continued to grow as we added 128 physicians last year, along with 44 AHP.
We continue to focus and excel in clinical quality and safety as well. Our Patient Safety Dashboard goal performance achievement is a testimony to the importance of physician engagement and leadership in the care of our patients and the safety of our staff.
We can all agree this year has been very busy and we appreciate all you have done and do every day to deliver extraordinary care to our patients and community. Your dedication and commitment are what make McLaren a healing environment for all. May 2024 continue to bring endless successes!
All the best,
Linda M. Peterson, MD
Chief Medical Officer, McLaren Greater Lansing