DMC Ban on Wayne State Pediatricians “Unprincipled,” Says New Med School Dean

Training physicians and health care workers to keep us all healthy is not an easy job, even in normal times — adding in a pandemic adds even bigger challenges.

Dr. Mark Schweitzer, the new dean of Wayne’s Medical school, stresses the importance of proper medical education in such trying times.

“It was a completely unprincipled decision. They did what I believe is a 100% financially-motivated issue” — Dr. Mark Schweitzer, Wayne State University School of Medicine

“I think the coronavirus is a blessing and a curse when it comes to health science education,” he says. “This is a tragic horrendous situation. But if you’re a health care professional, it tests your mettle.”

But he has pointed words for the the Detroit Medical Center (DMC) and its for-profit parent company, Tenet Healthcare, who he says were “completely unprincipled” in their decision to ban Wayne State University pediatricians from practicing at the DMC’s Children’s Hospital of Michigan, says the new dean of WSU’s medical school.

Listen: WSU Medical School Dean Dr. Mark Schweitzer on the DMC’s decision and training medical professionals during a pandemic

Wayne State University

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Dr. Mark Schweitzer is Wayne State University’s new vice president of health affairs and dean of WSU’s school of medicine, only starting this new position last week. Prior to working here in Detroit, he hailed as a preeminent radiologist and chair of the Department of Radiology at the Stony Brook University School of Medicine in New York. 

“The tuition of our students and the state dollars, to some degree, are going to line the pockets of the highly-paid leadership of Tenet Healthcare.”

University Pediatricians — the longtime academic partner with WSU at Children’s — made the decision last year to partner instead with Central Michigan University after Wayne formed its own group practice, called Wayne Pediatrics, in April 2019, starting the chain of events that led to DMC’s decision.

Although the relationship between Wayne State and the DMC is in a rift, Schweitzer hopes that he can help to repair the relationship between this two institutions in his new position as medical school deal.

“I believe that we need to repair that relationship” says Schweitzer. But he also worries the DMC’s for-profit model will continue to make that difficult.

“In every university hospital that I’ve worked in or that I’m familiar with, the hospital provides — sometimes a modest — but at least some subsidy to the medical school. Looking at the books here, we’re actually subsidizing Detroit Medical Center,” says Schweitzer on Detroit Today. “So, the tuition of our students and the state dollars, to some degree, are going to Dallas to line the pockets of the highly-paid leadership of Tenet Healthcare. I think that’s another immoral situation.”

“I’m very concerned that the funds flow is flowing from the medical school through subsidizing the residency training programs, straight to Dallas,” he continues.

University Pediatricians released a statement saying the university’s claim about the ban is “blatantly false.” But Schweitzer says the statement lacks “honesty and transparency.”

As tensions between the two medical institutions rise, Schweitzer says his concern that the DMC is attempting to monopolize certain medical services, while putting patients at risk.