 I
am pleased to share with you the findings and recommendations
of our year-long strategic planning effort for the U-M Health
System. More than 125 people, as members of the strategic planning
committees, participated in the planning process, and many others
contributed valuable comments as well. According to our consultants,
The Lewin Group, we had a most unusual degree of engagement
of people throughout the Medical School, Hospitals and Health
Centers, M-CARE, and other units of the University.
Our goals were to:
- Develop a shared vision and a common direction for the U-M
Health System.
- Develop an integrated strategic plan linking education,
research and patient care.
- Anticipate/assess future scientific, clinical, educational,
organizational and financial opportunities and partners, as
well as threats and competitors.
- Create appropriate decision-making and conflict-resolving
mechanisms.
- Provide a basis for setting priorities, allocating resources
and deciding on investments.
- Lay a foundation for ongoing planning.
I believe we've made excellent progress addressing these goals.
We are determined to "shape a positive future for academic
medicine," as my co-authors Allen Lichter, Larry Warren,
Lee Bollinger and I outlined in the February 16, 2000, special
issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association that
was dedicated to the University of Michigan Medical School and
its Sesquicentennial celebration.
The key themes of the strategic plan include creativity, innovation
and integration; measurement of all aspects of operational and
financial performance; fiscal soundness to enable success in
meeting our mission and to permit investment; and greater satisfaction
of patients, families, referring physicians, faculty, staff,
students and others.
The Strategic Plan highlights our shared commitment to:
1. Continue to improve service to patients and their families
through concerted efforts and positive attitudes of all Health
System staff, upgraded systems, and improved signage.
2. Assure that our clinical programs and M-CARE remain competitive
in quality, price, service and quantity so as to sustain positive
operating margins, however tough the payment world. Compare
ongoing clinical and operational redesign with best practices
of regional competitors and national peers.
3. Expand development of comprehensive care centers that capitalize
on clinical excellence and the technological and organizational
advances of our research and medical management programs. Plan
investments in comprehensive centers for cardio-vascular disease,
women's and children's health, transplantation, and depression,
along the lines of our Cancer Center; additional possibilities
are neurosciences and musculoskeletal.
4. Ensure we are making optimal use of existing facilities in
all clinical, research, and educational programs. Reallocate
space to improve productivity and accommodate additional grants
to current faculty, while preparing to recruit new faculty for
the U-M Life Sciences Initiative. Invest in information systems
to enhance patient safety, quality, integration, and productivity
across the Health System.
5. Enhance our Medical School ranking in research, based on
proxies of NIH funding, citation indices, and competitive renewals
of grants. Recruit additional excellent faculty, initiate more
interdisciplinary proposals, utilize existing space as intensively
as possible and create new research space in the future Life
Sciences Institute and Medical Research Laboratory Facility.
6. Periodically enhance the curriculum to better integrate basic
science and clinical education (starting clinical clerkships
in mid-year II/inserting transitional science courses in year
IV), utilize new technologies, create more self-learning and
small-group experiences, and create lifelong learning relationships
(Web-based and in-person) for graduates, resident alumni, referring
physicians and others.
7. Improve our ability to attract, develop, and retain outstanding
faculty, staff, and medical, predoctoral, and postdoctoral students.
Expand the Biological Sciences Scholars Program. Participate
very actively in the Life Sciences Institute, Initiative, and
Corridor programs. Clarify faculty career ladders, enhance mentoring
of faculty, staff and predoctoral and postdoctoral students,
and provide greater recognition of outstanding performance in
clinical, educational and research domains.
8. Streamline decision-making processes throughout the Health
System and its units. Integrate operating and capital budgeting
processes to achieve greater discipline and synergy in maximizing
return and moderating risks from our investments.
9. Intensify the use of measurement of performance by a much
broader array of Health System leaders as an essential element
of planning, budgeting and rewarding performance.
10. Significantly increase philanthropic support to advance
the full range of educational, research, clinical, and community
service missions for both the Medical School and the Hospitals
and Health Centers. Draw upon the loyalty, interest and generosity
of alumni, patients and their families, faculty, staff, and
other current and prospective benefactors.
For those currently within the Health System, the Strategic
Plan can be accessed on the Web at: http://www.med.umich.edu/
i/omenn/strategic. If you would like a print copy of the Strategic
Plan, please call (734) 615-0574 and a copy will be mailed to
you. I welcome your comments.
We are doing well in a very challenging and exciting time for
academic medicine. Best wishes to all of you.
Gilbert S. Omenn, M.D., Ph.D.
U-M Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs
and CEO, U-M Health System
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