Dear OBGYN Family,

We have officially moved into fall! Fall for many means national meetings – on Zoom and in-person this year. I am so proud of the many abstracts and research being presented by our residents, fellows, and faculty.

Our amazing staff members are also being selected for institutional committees and awards.  Finally a shout out to our clinical staff that is working so hard, and in many cases with open positions, to keep our clinical care going.

Thank you for all you do!

Dee E. Fenner, MD

Thank you to all of our Certified Nurse-Midwives (CNMs) for providing excellent care to our Michigan Medicine patients and their families!

CNMs have been part of this health system for over 38 years and provide prenatal, labor, birth, postpartum and well-woman care to many patients.

Several OBGYN faculty & staff were featured in an October 2021 Health Affairs special issue on perinatal mental health. The issue, “Perinatal Mental Health & More,” features a themed cluster of papers on perinatal mental health presenting empirical findings and commentary from leading thinkers in the field, offering specific proposals for improving support for people before, during, and after giving birth.

On Friday, October 8, Health Affairs also hosted a virtual forum featuring special guests and a select group of authors from the issue presenting their work.

Tune in around minute one to hear from our own Kara Zivin, PhD!

In their new AJOG article, Dee Fenner, MD, and Erica Marsh, MD, MSCI, call for departmental, institutional, and professional society efforts that explicitly prioritize and demonstrate a commitment to gender equity with tangible actions. Drs. Fenner, Marsh, and co-authors propose specific principles and leadership practices to promote gender equity in the field of obstetrics and gynecology.

Giselle Kolenic, MA, our department's own Statistician Expert, will be co-teaching BioStats 512, "Analyzing Longitudinal and Clustered Data" in the upcoming winter semester.

The 3-credit course will introduce students to methods for analyzing both clustered and longitudinal data using the statistical software packages SAS and Stata. Students will use both software packages to analyze real data sets.

In their new article, "Predictors of burnout: the role of agency among obstetric providers in Kumasi, Ghana," Emma Lawrence, MD, MS, Sarah Rominski, PhD, MPH, and team, explore predictors of burnout among obstetric providers in Kumasi, Ghana.

Kara Zivin, PhD, and Lindsay Admon, MD, MSc, recently presented their work on disparities in severe maternal morbidity and mortality and behavioral health outcomes to the Medicaid Medical Director's Network (MMDN), a national group of the Medicaid medical directors in each state.

Drs. Zivin and Admon provided information on recent legislative action, specifically in the American Rescue Plan Act, that allows states the option to extend pregnancy-related Medicaid coverage through the first year postpartum with federal matching funds, expected outcomes of enacting this legislation, and steps that can be taken to seek approval for these eligibility extensions.

Timothy R. B. Johnson, MD, presented to the Ghana Physicians and Surgeons Foundation (GPSF) of NA last week as part of their Educational Webinar Series.

Dr. Johnson spoke about OBGYN sub-specialties in Ghana and his experience building relationships between Michigan Medicine and its Ghanaian partners.

Molly Moravek, MD, MPH, MSCI, moderated the "Pathways to Senior Leadership Forum" for the Mid-Career Forum at the Society for Reproductive Investigation (SRI) Mini Career Development Day held on October 7.

Our Department was well represented at the 2021 American Urogynecologic Society (AUGS) Annual Pelvic Floor Disorder (PFD) Week.

The Frankel Innovation Initiative is a $20 million fund supporting the research and development of life-saving therapies at Michigan Medicine, made possible by a generous donation from the Maxine and Stuart Frankel Foundation.

Fast Forward Medical Innovation (FFMI) recently awarded $3 million in funding to six biomedical research projects in the second round of the Frankel Innovation Initiative, including two from our OBGYN faculty:

Maya Millette, an undergraduate student in Public Health and research assistant with the Department of OBGYN, was honored last week at the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) Fall Forum.

Her summer project, "Rural and Urban Disparities in Perinatal Insurance Coverage," was recognized as one of this year's top 10 UROP student projects, out of over 1200 submissions.

Maya's research mentors include Lindsay Admon, MD, MSc, with whom she worked this summer, and Erica Marsh, MD, MSCI.

Our new REI fellow, Ali Bazzi, MD, was just elected Co-Chair of the Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (SREI) Associate Members.

In this role, Dr. Bazzi will represent all of the REI fellows across the country, help shape the future of the fellowship experiences, and promote the field of REI.

A recent abstract, "Quantifying iliococcygeal muscle shape change in young versus older nulliparous women - A novel measurement technique" by Whitney Horner, MD, Carolyn Swenson, MD, John DeLancey, MD, and Luyun Chen, PhD, has been selected as the Most Innovative Abstract of the International Urogynecological Association (IUGA) 46th Annual Meeting!

The University of Michigan Medical School recently launched a Staff Career Showcase Webinar Series showcasing various staff members discussing their personal career journeys and how they attained their current positions with the goal of sharing information on different career pathways and opportunities that exist within our institution.

Our own Anca Tilea, MPH, Data & Analytics Manager, was featured on the webinar's first session on October 19th.

Emily Rivkin, MPH, Project Manager, has been selected to join the Michigan Medicine Anti-Racism Oversight Committee (AROC), to serve on the Advocacy and Professional Development subcommittee.

In this two-year position, Emily will help further the subcommittee's goal to integrate anti-racism values into our everyday work as a sustainable element of our medical community and culture and direct the inclusion of dedicated time and resources to faculty, staff, and learners for leadership/professional development and advocacy.​

Michelle Moniz, MD, MSc, was recently awarded the Outstanding Researcher Award by the Society of Family Planning (SFP) for her oral abstract presentation, "Balancing desire to enhance equitable access to contraceptive care with the risk of perpetuating reproductive healthcare injustice: A national comparative case study of inpatient postpartum contraceptive care implementation."

Save the date for the First Annual Global Women's Health Fellowship & Research Symposium, an opportunity for current and past fellows, program directors, researchers, and current residents interested in pursuing fellowship training in global women's health to join together to learn more about the current landscape and opportunities within the field.

Date: November 16th, 2021

Time: 9:00am - 4:00pm

Location: Zoom

Join us for an exciting CME opportunity to hear the latest updates in women’s health care from leading experts in the field.

Date: December 2nd, 2021

Location: Doubletree by Hilton, 3600 Plymouth Rd, Ann Arbor, MI.

We’ll cover the long-term effects of COVID, microscopic hematuria, refractory GERD, healthcare for immigrants, effects of prolonged screen time, and more!

We are nearing flu season once again, and flu shots are available now! There are many opportunities to get your flu shot at Michigan Medicine, including free flu fairs. Vaccines are also available at Occupational Health Services in the Med Inn Building or from clinical unit flu liaisons.

The Michigan Medicine deadline for flu vaccination is December 1, 2021. To fully protect our patients and each other, the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology recommends that you get your flu shot before November 5, 2021.

Our department had a nice showing at the annual Ann Arbor Planned Parenthood fundraiser, held at Bill's Beer Garden.

Halley Crissman, MD, MPH, spoke about reproductive health access in front of hundreds at the state Capitol for the MI Body MI Choice event on Oct. 2, 2021.