Underscoring the "call for collaboration" expressed by Crain's Detroit Business Publisher Mary Kramer in a recent editorial, Wayne State University's Board of Governors is reaching out to the Board of the Detroit Medical Center in an effort to re-establish collaborative support for the fundamental goals that link the two institutions.

Noting that "negotiations between Wayne State University and the Detroit Medical Center have reached a critical point," WSU Board of Governors Chair Jacquelin Washington invited the DMC Board to attend "a joint informational meeting as soon as we can assemble" in an Oct. 19 letter to Charles R. O'Brien, the chair of the Detroit Medical Center Board of Trustees.

"Under the circumstances, it is imperative that our respective Boards be fully engaged and share a common understanding of the underlying issues and points that impede the negotiations," Washington stated. She added, "The outcome of these negotiations will have long-lasting effects not merely on our two institutions, but on the future of health care in the Detroit metropolitan area. While we do not minimize the challenges in reaching an agreement, we must be mindful of the consequences if we do not do so."

The Wayne State School of Medicine is working strenuously on protection of quality health care and access for urban residents, many of whom are uninsured and underinsured. Currently, the DMC provides nearly 25 percent of all Medicaid care in the state. Wayne State University faculty physicians and residents (under faculty supervision) deliver 80 percent of the care to Medicaid patients and the working poor.

"Our mission is to train the best doctors while providing the best quality of care possible to the people of Detroit," noted Robert Mentzer, dean of the Wayne State University School of Medicine. "The DMC shares this vision and mission, and, it is on that basis I believe we can all move forward."

Currently, the WSU School of Medicine is among the five largest of the nation's 126 medical schools and is the largest single-campus medical school in the United States. It also ranks among the top 20 percent of medical schools nationally, with faculty annually attracting research grants and contracts totaling more than 134 million.

WSU Board of Governor Washington concurs with Mentzer. "We all have a lot invested in making this work," she added. "The two respective Boards can evaluate roadblocks to agreement in an objective and reasonable way. Such thoughtful analysis and discussion are positive steps toward rebuilding a relationship that has served so many so well for so many years."