Hello OBGYN Family,
August once again showed us that Mother Nature is indeed in charge. After this past week’s heat and humidity, I think we are all ready for fall.

Let’s continue to pull together, keep increasing our vaccination rates, and begin the boosters. Together we can get our children back to school, continue to care for our patients, and move past this current COVID bump!

Best,

Dee E. Fenner, MD
ObGyn Faculty in the Summer 2021 Edition of Medicine at Michigan!
Versha Pleasant, MD, MPH
What does it mean to wear a white coat when you’re a Black woman? OB-GYN Dr. Versha Pleasant talks about what her white coat meant to her in the wake of George Floyd’s death.

Erica Marsh, MD, MSCI, FACOG
Learn more about Dr. Erica Marsh's commitment to combatting vaccine hesitancy and reducing health disparities in our community and beyond.

Dr. Peahl & Team Release New Pregnancy Care Recommendations!
New prenatal care guidelines emerge from COVID

For the first time in almost a century, experts release new pregnancy care recommendations that focus on tailoring care to individual patients.

Read more
labblog.uofmhealth.org
Dr. Morgan & Team in the Green Journal
Helen Morgan, MD, and coauthors, including Maya Hammoud, MD, MBA, recently published a commentary on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the transition from medical school to residency.
Dr. Ernst Shares her Expertise with College Students
Susan Ernst, MD, recently spoke with Her Campus Media - an online media platform geared towards college women everywhere - about coping with pain after having sex for the first time. 
Call for Applications: MICHR $100,000 Accelerating Synergy Award
Are you interested in positioning your interdisciplinary research team to be competitive for an external large-scale grant (e.g., NIH U- and P-series mechanisms)? Do you need funds to pursue final data collection/analysis, to publish with your collaborators, or to support resources for grant development?

If so, you’re encouraged to apply for $100,000 in funding and tailored research support available through the Accelerating Synergy Award. The Michigan Institute for Clinical & Health Research (MICHR), in partnership with the U-M Medical School Office of Research, is offering two award mechanisms: 1) Basic Research and 2) Translational Research. Pre-applications are due Wednesday, August 18, 2021, through UMMS Competition Space.
New Obesity & Reproductive Health Clinic
Samantha Schon, MD, Amal Othman, MD, and Mark Chames, MD, in partnership with the Center for Reproductive Medicine, are establishing a new multi-disciplinary clinic for women with obesity and infertility. The clinic will offer comprehensive evaluation and a variety of treatment options to assist with weight loss prior to and during fertility treatment. Patients benefit from consults with experts in obesity medicine, reproductive endocrinology & infertility, maternal fetal medicine, and nutrition.

The team plans to pilot the Obesity & Reproductive Health Clinic in November and launch in December of 2021. 
 Dr. Cosmas Van De Ven Discusses the Latest Research on COVID Vaccine in Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women
COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy protects newborns

New research shows pregnant people who are vaccinated against COVID-19 are passing on that protection to their newborns, providing babies some immunity to Sars-CoV-2 before they enter the world.

Read more
healthblog.uofmhealth.org
Call for Nominations for HOPE and JOY Awards
The Office of Patient Experience is now accepting nominations for the 2021 Evan Newport HOPE Awards! Please take a moment to recognize a colleague and/or team that goes above and beyond to exemplify the values of patient and family-centered care. Nominations will be accepted through October 1, 2021
Introducing the Michigan Women's Health Initiative (MiWHI)
The Michigan Women’s Health Initiative (MiWHI) is a statewide clinical quality initiative to improve population health, address inequities in care, and promote high-value health care for women in Michigan. With an emphasis on implementing evidence-based care guidelines in ambulatory care, MiWHI will partner with Physician Organizations and the practices, providers, and physicians who provide this care.  

Under the leadership of Co-Directors Dan Morgan, MD, and Michelle Moniz, MD, MSc, and in partnership with Blue Cross Blue Sheild of Michigan, MiWHI’s early efforts will focus on three clinical areas:

  1. Postpartum chronic disease risk management: Optimizing prevention, early diagnosis, and appropriate management of diabetes risk. 
  2. Preventative services: Promoting evidence-based screening and treatment of sexually transmitted infections and comprehensive access to patient-centered contraceptive care. 
  3. Gynecologic alternatives to surgery: Promoting access to non-surgical management, especially for hysterectomy.

The MiWHI team is currently building their team, establishing robust relationships with colleagues across the state, and planning an official kick-off in early 2022!
Meet the MiWHI Team!:
  • Dan Morgan, MD, Co-Director
  • Michelle Moniz, MD, MSc, Co-Director
  • Helen Costis, Program Manager
  • MaryAnn Stock, Admin Assistant
  • Mara D'Amico, QI Engagement Specialist
  • Marisa Wetmore, MPP, Communications Specialist
  • Giselle Kolenic, MA, Senior Statistician
  • Brian Madden, Data Programmer

MiWHI Content Area Experts:

  • Anita Malone, MD, Physician & Practice Engagement
  • Alex Peahl, MD, MSc, Patient & Community Engagement
  • Molly Stout, MD, MSCI, Postpartum Care
  • Okeoma Mmeje, MD, MPH, Sexually Transmitted Infections
  • Zach Landis Lewis, PhD, Performance Feedback Interventions

Dr. Stalburg Joins USMLE Patient Characteristics Advisory Panel
In July, the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) commenced work with the newly convened Patient Characteristics Advisory Panel to expand the impact of the previous USMLE Management Committee task force. With support from the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) staff, this panel of practicing physicians and USMLE committee members will help ensure exam content, practices, and review processes illustrate patient characteristics fairly, accurately, and devoid of stereotypes. 

Their vision: patient characteristics included in USMLE test items both reflect the patient population that examinees care for and adhere to NBME’s updated Item Writing Guide. This guide can help any educator appropriately describe patients to construct quality test questions.

Congratulations to Caren Stalburg, MD, MA, for selection to the new Panel!
Dr. Chames To Serve as Physician Lead for MFM Practice at VVWH
Congratulations to Mark Chames, MD, the new Physician Lead for Maternal Fetal Medicine Practice at the Von Voigtlander Hospital ObGyn Clinic. Dr. Chames will be partnering with Megan Schimpf, MD, MHSA, and our nursing and administrative leaders to ensure high-quality patient care, scheduling, interactions with referring providers, education, and research within our clinic and across the system for maternal fetal medicine patients.

In addition to division and department leadership, Dr. Chames will work with the teams at the FDC, Birth Center, call center, and our partners at Marquette to help ensure seamless care across sites.
Our Clinicians Rank Among Ann Arbor's Favorite Health Providers!
Each year, the Ann Arbor Family Press asks our community to nominate their favorite companies and people across a wide variety of categories. This year, two of Michigan Medicine's care providers were recognized for their excellence! Monica Rosen, MD, was voted the 2021 Ann Arbor Family Favorite ObGyn, and Melisa Scott, CNM, was this year's runner-up for Family Favorite Midwife.
Dr. Fenner Honored for Positively Influencing our Community
Dee Fenner, MD, was recently named the August honoree for the WJR “Women Who Lead” 2021 Class of Honorees! 

Dr. Fenner joined the “Women Who Lead” team to discuss our U.S. News & World Report ranking as one of the top hospitals in the nation for gynecology, our recent birth surge, and how our ObGyns have led the way in redesigning prenatal care, especially during the height of the pandemic.
Congratulations to our Newly Promoted Faculty Members!
  • Deborah Berman, MD, Clinical Professor
  • Susan Ernst, MD, Clinical Associate Professor
  • Richard Lieberman, MD, Clinical Professor
  • Courtney Lim, MD, Clinical Associate Professor
  • Karen McLean, MD, PhD, Associate Professor
  • Helen Morgan, MD, Clinical Professor
  • Erica Marsh, MD, MSCI, FACOG, Professor
  • Roger Smith, MD, Clinical Associate Professor
Dr. Latack to Present at AUGS Annual Meeting
First-year resident, Kyle Latack, MD, will be presenting at the American Urogynecologic Society (AUGS) annual Pelvic Floor Disorder Week in Phoenix, Arizona this October.

His presentation - "Comparison of crowd-sourced reporting to meta-analysis data: prevalence of antimuscarinic side effects" - is centered around the idea that individuals share and obtain medical information online, including information regarding drug side effects. The project seeks to compare the side effect profiles of antimuscarinics reported in an online review forum (drugs.com) to historically reported data from clinical trials. If the data in online reviews are reliable, the information could be used to augment more traditional methods of post-marketing safety surveillance.

Additionally, understanding the nature of information online could provide better insight into what expectations/knowledge patients may have regarding side effects when they come to our clinics.
New OBGYN Faculty Members:
  • Dr. Alana Pinsky, Clinical Assistant Professor, Women’s Health
  • Dr. Erin Inman, Clinical Instructor, Women’s Health
  • Dr. Payton Schmidt, Clinical Assistant Professor, Gynecology Division
New OBGYN Staff Members:
  • Raysha Simon, Administrative Assistant Senior, Gynecology Division
  • Xiaosong Zhang, Applications Programmer Analyst Lead
  • Faelan Jacobson-Davies, Statistician Intermediate
  • Mara D’Amico, Senior QI Engagement Coordinator, MiWHI
  • Brian Madden, Data Programmer, MiWHI
Obstetric Racism: Black Women and Medical Encounters
Save the date for the next event in North American Society for Psychosocial Obstetrics & Gynecology (NASPOG)'s Diversity & Inclusion Webinar Series - Obstetric Racism: Black Women and Medical Encounters. This webinar will explore issues related to racism and reproduction in medicine, presented by guest speakers Drs. Patience A. Afulani (UCSF) and Dána-Ain Davis (Queens College).

Date: September 9th, 2021
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Virtual

Free to NASPOG members & trainees, and $15.00 for non-members.
Region 9 Perinatal Quality Collaborative Data Town Hall
Join MDHHS for a conversation about maternal and infant health data specific to Region 9, which includes Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Monroe, Lenawee, Livingston, and Jackson counties.

Date: September 14th, 2021
Time: 3:00 - 5:00pm

We will discuss where gaps in care exist and how we can work together to address these concerns.
Save the Date!: 2021 Miller Society Meeting
We hope to see you at the 2021 Annual Norman F. Miller University of Michigan Alumni Society Meeting on Friday, September 24, 2021. Please contact Jane Juckno for additional details!
Morton R. Lazar Professorship in ObGyn Innovation
Please save the date for a ceremony celebrating the inauguration of the Morton R. Lazar Professorship in Obstetrics and Gynecology Innovation, and the installation of Molly J. Stout, MD.

Date: September 29, 2021
Time: 5:00 p.m. EDT Ceremony, Reception to follow.
Location: TBD
2021 MARTS Conference & RSP Research Forum
The MARTS (Michigan Alliance for Reproductive Technologies and Sciences) Conference aims to accelerate the growth of Reproductive Sciences in Michigan by enhancing collaboration and communication among educators and researchers in the basic, translational and clinical arenas.

Date: October 8th, 2021
Location: Rogel Ballroom, Michigan Union
29th Annual Primary Health Care of Women Conference
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!
Another Successful Department of ObGyn Picnic!
Saturday, August 7th was a day of fun, service, wellness, and community as we came together for the OBGYN Department Picnic! Under sunny skies, we gathered to see faces both familiar and new, share tasty food, have lively conversations, and enjoy each other’s company.

The picnic was also a time to give back; together we collected several boxes to donate to Safe House including personal care items, diapers, baby clothes, booster seats, toys, and more. These simple and basic items will likely mean the world to families in crisis due to intimate partner violence. We can all be proud to be part of our OBGYN Community who came together to give back and to celebrate our resiliency over the past year.

Please save the date for next year’s Department Picnic – August 6th, 2022!
Congratulations, Dr. Hammoud!
Congratulations to Maya Hammoud, MD, MBA, who completed the Dexter-Ann Arbor 10K earlier this month!

Running a 10K was supposed to be Dr. Hammou's 50th birthday present to herself. One broken leg and two years later, she's smashed her goals!

Way to go, Dr. Hammoud!
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Office Hours with Dr. Mmeje
The DEI team is excited to announce that Okeoma Mmeje, MD, MPH, our Associate Chair for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, will be hosting Office Hours to discuss any questions, concerns, or suggestions from faculty and staff in order to move our diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and strategies forward.

We welcome your input and encourage you to sign up for a group session or one-on-one discussion. Our first sessions will be on September 13th and September 23rd, with more to come this Fall!
M Farmers Market Continues into September!
Purchase farm-fresh fruits and vegetables at an M Farmers Market at the University Hospital Courtyard and East Ann Arbor Health and Geriatrics Center (EAAHC) on select days in September.
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Interested in a Provider Video Profile?
The Department of Communications video team is open again and accepting appointments! Video profiles will be filmed in the North Campus Administrative Complex (NCAC) boardroom.