John M. Flack, M.D., M.P.H., was appointed Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine for the Wayne State University School of Medicine.
"Dr. John Flack is well qualified to serve as a leader in such a key department," said Robert M. Mentzer Jr., M.D., dean of the School of Medicine and senior advisor to the President for Medical Affairs. Dr. Mentzer announced Flack's appointment March 14. "Dr. Flack's appointment is the culmination of an intense national search process that resulted in the identification of outstanding candidates. Those who have worked with and for Dr. Flack know of his dedication to medicine, his love for the city of Detroit and his strong commitment to the School of Medicine's missions of education and clinical care for the uninsured and underinsured of the Detroit region. Dr. Flack's vision for the department is one that is expansive and involves reaching out to the metropolitan community and engaging healthcare partners who are committed to revitalization of our city and region. He is truly a visionary who wishes to make a difference; he thinks of the future, not the past. "
"I am honored to have been appointed the permanent chair of the Wayne State University Department of Medicine," said Dr. Flack, 51, who has been serving as interim chair. "This appointment comes with significant challenges as well as opportunities that I am excited to undertake. The greatest opportunities have a habit of arising from the most challenging situations. I am very optimistic about our future because of the ingenuity, creativity and perseverance of our faculty and staff in their pursuit of our major mission areas."
Dr. Flack is a widely recognized specialist in clinical hypertension and principal investigator of the Center for Urban and African American Health at Wayne State University.
Repeatedly named one of the "Best Doctors in America," Dr. Flack has received the Pillar of Excellence Award from the Michigan Peer Review Organization and the Health Care Hero Award from Crain's Detroit Business in 2005 for health disparities-related research.
Dr. Flack received a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Langston University in 1978 and his medical degree from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (UOHSC) in 1982. He served as chief medicine resident at UOHSC from 1982 to 1986. He received his master's of public health degree in epidemiology and completed a National Institutes of Health fellowship in cardiovascular epidemiology at the University of Minnesota in 1990. He joined the Wayne State University School of Medicine as associate chair of the Department of Medicine in 1997.
"I have several priorities that I wish to accomplish with a sense of urgency," Dr. Flack said. "One is to upgrade every aspect of our ambulatory clinic operations. Accordingly, a priority is to implement strategies to ensure high-quality, patient-friendly services for patients cared for in our clinics. An important step toward strengthening the Department of Medicine will be to successfully recruit outstanding leaders for several of our clinical divisions, including cardiology, hematology-oncology and rheumatology. And, finally, we will continue our pursuit of outstanding faculty to lead new and innovative trans-disciplinary clinical and research programs within the department."
The School of Medicine, said Dr. Flack, is home to a collection of outstanding physicians who provide irreplaceable, accessible, high-quality medical care to the residents of Detroit, the metropolitan area and beyond. "The expertise amongst faculty in the various specialties is highly impressive," he said. "Many faculty are regional, national and internationally recognized leaders in their respective fields. These highly accomplished faculty provide tremendous visibility and recognition to our medical center while providing excellent medical care to our patients as well as exemplary teaching and role modeling for WSU trainees at all levels."
Flack and his wife live in Orchard Lake. They have five daughters.