U.S. Congressman John Conyers (D-Detroit) helped conduct a town hall meeting on health care reform Aug. 18 at the Wayne State University School of Medicine. Representative Conyers moderated a conversation titled “Access to Health Care,” which featured a panel of experts who discussed problems and possible solutions to the growing number of under- and uninsured residents in America.

“Wayne State University School of Medicine has continued to be a forum where we have been able to explore the issue of how we deliver health care in America,” said Representative Conyers. “We are looking at a problem that has grown more complicated, more difficult and more challenging than ever before. Our goal is to enlarge the size of this conversation and invite more doctors, members of the community and legislators to participate”

In addition to Representative Conyers, panelists included John Flack, M.D., M.P.H., Chair of Internal Medicine; Herbert Smitherman, M.D., Assistant Dean of Community and Urban Health; Ramona Benkert, Ph.D., Associate Professor at WSU College of Nursing; Susan Steigerwalt, M.D., Former President of Physicians for a National Health Program; and David Ivers, Secretary-Treasurer of the Metro Detroit American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations.

“For some of us, the health care system works very well, but, for those who fall between the cracks of the Medicaid system, there is no access to health care – only to emergency rooms,” explained Dr. Flack. “This access is not just an urban problem or a Detroit problem but a national problem.”

“Right now we have no national solution and no consensus on what to do,” said Dr. Smitherman. “It’s not just about universal coverage. It’s about organizing the primary care infrastructure in order to address everyone properly.”

To view a video of the event, please visit the streaming media website.

David Benjamins, M.D., assistant professor of Pediatrics and Neurology for the Wayne State University School of Medicine, has been named a 2008 Health Care Hero by Crain’s Detroit Business for his work in assisting developmentally disabled children and their families.

The business publication awarded Dr. Benjamins honorable mention in the Physical Achievement category.

His specialty is pediatric neurology, and he cares for children at the Detroit Institute for Children.

“Dr. Benjamins has been an outstanding neurologist serving the Detroit community for decades,” said Bonita Stanton, M.D., professor and Schotanus Family Endowed Chair of Pediatrics, pediatrician-in-chief of the Carman and Ann Adams Department of Pediatrics at Children's Hospital of Michigan and the Wayne State University School of Medicine. “He has focused his career on providing top quality, accessible care for all children in need of neurologic services. With his quiet and warm demeanor, he has served the community selflessly, and has been an extraordinary role model and mentor for the many medical students, residents and fellows who have trained with him.”

He served as the medical director of the Detroit Institute for Children from 1985 to 1990, and remains on the staff there. The mission of the institute, which was founded in 1904, is to care for children with physical or developmental disabilities and neurological or behavioral special needs “so that the children can maximize their potential within their families and the community.” The institute offers a variety of services and programs.

Dr. Benjamins, who completed his undergraduate studies at Albion College and received his medical degree from Wayne State University in 1965, is now laying the groundwork for the establishment of a new developmental clinic for children with neurological impairments. He and the institute are developing funding for the clinic, which would be the only one of its kind in Detroit.

Once the new clinic is established, Dr. Benjamins, whose subspecialty interests include learning disabilities, attention deficit disorders, hyperactive disorder and cerebral palsy, would direct the facility.

Dr. Charles Whitten, M.D., associate dean emeritus of the Wayne State University School of Medicine, died Aug. 13. He was 86.

“Dr. Whitten was a pioneer in the field of medical education,” said Robert Frank, M.D., executive vice dean for the School of Medicine. “He founded the post baccalaureate program at Wayne State University School of Medicine, which was a national model for the inclusion of under-represented minority students in schools of medicine. Dr. Whitten revolutionized the curriculum at our School of Medicine, and was a personal mentor to many of our current medical educators.”

The post baccalaureate program led to Wayne State University leading the nation’s 125 medical schools (exclusive of Howard and Meharry) in the total number of African-American graduates from 1981 to 1997. One-third of them had entered through his program.

In addition to developing the post baccalaureate program in 1969, Dr. Whitten formed the Sickle Cell Detection and Information Center, the most comprehensive community program in the country, and facilitated the creation of the National Association for Sickle Cell Disease.

As chief of Pediatrics at Detroit Receiving Hospital, he was the first African-American physician to head a department in a Detroit hospital.

Dr. Whitten, who served more than 40 years as a member of the School of Medicine faculty, served 16 years as associate dean for Curriculum before entering semi-retirement in 1993 as professor and dean emeritus.

“Dr. Whitten was best known for his pioneering work in sickle cell anemia screening and development of novel educational tools for teaching children and families with sickle cell anemia,” said Yaddanapudi Ravindranath, M.B.B.S., professor of Pediatrics and the Georgie Ginopolis Chair for Pediatric Cancer and Hematology at the School of Medicine, and co-director of the Division of Hematology/Oncology for Children's Hospital of Michigan. “His forceful advocacy paved the way for the routine newborn screening for sickle cell anemia in Michigan and later in the United States.”

Dr. Ravindranath said Dr. Whitten’s lobbying efforts on behalf of children with sickle cell anemia also helped push the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute to set up the comprehensive sickle cell center program. A pivotal contribution in toxicology was Dr. Whitten’s work at Children's Hospital of Michigan on acute iron poisoning and strategies for its treatment, which developed the standard of care to date.

“We are very saddened by his death but take pride in his many legendary contributions in the care of children,” Dr. Ravindranath said. “Dr. Whitten represented Children's Hospital of Michigan, Wayne State University School of Medicine and the city of Detroit with great dignity and wisdom. We will miss him.”

Dr. Whitten received the School of Medicine’s inaugural Pathfinders in Medicine Award in 2000 for his contribution to equality and diversity in the medical community. That same year, Meharry Medical College named him its Alumnus of the Year.

The Black Medical Association has established the Charles F. Whitten Lifetime Achievement Award, which is presented annually. The first award went to Dr. Whitten. The Sickle Cell Disease Association of America presented him with a Legacy Award for his 21 years of service in that organization’s leadership. He also was honored with a Special Recognition Award from the Association of American Medical Colleges for his pioneering efforts in medical education and treatment.

Funeral and service information will be provided when it becomes available.

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Patricia LoRusso, D.O., director of the Phase I Clinical Trials Program at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and professor of Internal Medicine at the Wayne State University School of Medicine, was named a Crain’s Detroit Business 2008 Health Care Hero for advancements in healthcare.

"I am very honored to receive this prestigious award," said Dr. LoRusso. "Bringing new cancer treatments to patients fulfills a lifelong dream. My patients are true heroes. Being able to give them hope is an extremely rewarding part of my job."

The business publication noted that Dr. LoRusso works tirelessly to bring promising new anti-cancer treatments to patients. She developed the Phase I program at Karmanos, one of only 14 National Cancer Institute (NCI)-funded Phase I programs in the country, and the only such program in Michigan.

"Patricia LoRusso is an inspiration in the field of medicine," said John C. Ruckdeschel, M.D., president and chief executive officer of the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute. "Her accomplishments as a physician-researcher have raised the bar for others to reach. She is extremely dedicated to improving the lives of others through her work, and I could think of no one else more deserving."

For patients with advanced cancer who have exhausted conventional treatments, Dr. LoRusso's program brings them their last, best hope: tomorrow's drugs today.

Dr. LoRusso has been integrally involved in the early clinical development of five of the last nine cancer drugs to become commercially available.

“Patricia LoRusso is a brilliant, hard-driving and compassionate physician-scientist who does very impressive cutting-edge research,” said John Flack, M.D., M.P.H., Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine for the School of Medicine. “She truly deserves this honor. We are very proud of her and are highly pleased that her clinical and research excellence has been so prominently recognized.”

Dr. LoRusso is recognized as an international expert in early phase clinical research. She has been awarded prestigious grants from the NCI and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, and serves as Co-Chair of the NCI's Investigational Drug Steering Committee. She has also served on both the Education and Scientific committees of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the Scientific Committee of the American Association for Cancer Research, and as a parent member of the NCI’s Quick Trials Clinical Subcommittee.

Dedicated to serving the community in which she was born, Dr. LoRusso gives cancer patients in Michigan access to as many novel agents as possible in hopes of granting them the best chance of improving their condition. Her goal is to make a difference in the lives of cancer patients.

A member of the American Osteopathic Association and the American Association for Cancer Research, she has won numerous awards, including the 1999 Heroes of Breast Cancer and the 2004 Bennett J. Cohen Educational Leadership Award for Medical Research.

Dr. LoRusso received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Detroit and her doctor of osteopathy degree from Michigan State University. She completed her internship and residency in internal medicine at Riverside Osteopathic Hospital in Trenton, and completed a fellowship in hematology and oncology at Wayne State University and Harper Hospital.

Membership in the Society of Neurological Surgeons is one of the highest honors a neurosurgeon can receive. Only eight neurosurgeons were elected this year.

Founded in 1919, the Society of Neurological Surgeons, also known as the “Senior Society,” is the American society of leaders in neurosurgical residency education and is the oldest neurosurgical society in the world. Membership is limited to 200 active members, which include academic department chairs, residency program directors and other key academic practitioners.

The society is charged with continuing to develop the field of neurological surgery and education, ensuring that patients with nervous system disorders receive the highest possible care and supporting research in the neurosciences. Active members should hold an important or responsible post in neurosurgery carrying with it responsibilities for graduate, undergraduate or postgraduate teaching in a university or clinic setting. Excellence in the practice and study of surgery of the nervous system must be demonstrated by prospective members.

“I am very proud of this achievement,” Dr. Guthikonda said. “It is an honor for me and for our department to be part of such an elite group.”