University of Michigan Health-West announces new president

Ronald Grifka, M.D., to lead U-M Health’s west Michigan operations

10:00 AM

Author | Mary Masson

University of Michigan Health-West campus

University of Michigan Health announced today that Ronald Grifka, M.D., will be the new president of University of Michigan Health-West.

Grifka replaces Peter Hahn, M.D., M.B.A. in the role. Hahn has decided to resign from his position, announcing last week he would be pursuing other opportunities.

Grifka will lead UM Health-West in serving Grand Rapids area patients as part of U-M Health’s statewide network of care that delivers the right care at the right time, close to home.

Ronald Grifka, M.D.
Grifka

Grifka has served as chief medical officer for UM Health-West since 2019.

“Ron is widely respected for his commitment to quality and safety, his relationship with the medical staff, and his visibility and communication with patients and staff,” said Marschall S. Runge, M.D., Ph.D., CEO of Michigan Medicine, dean of the U-M Medical School and executive vice president for medical affairs at the University of Michigan.

Steve Van Andel, chair of UM Health-West said, “We believe Ron’s leadership will provide a smooth transition and be important to continuing the positive momentum that has been established clinically, operationally and culturally at UM Health-West.”

Grifka will begin in his new role on Sept. 9 and reports to Margaret Dimond, Ph.D., the newly named president of regional operations for U-M Health.

“We are thrilled to have Ron step into the role of president. Ron was one of the first people to drive the integration between U-M Health and West, establishing a pediatric cardiology clinic in west Michigan, where he still sees patients today,” Dimond said.

The regional health system includes the UM Health-West’s 208-bed hospital and Sparrow’s 573-bed main hospital plus five community hospitals, totaling approximately 11,000 employees. These operations are part of the U-M Health network, which is now a $7.8 billion revenue enterprise with 46,000 employees and 1.3 million patients served annually.

Runge expressed gratitude to Hahn for his contributions and service. Hahn joined UM Health-West when it was still Metro Health as chief medical officer in 2016. He was named president and CEO in 2018.

Grifka will lead UM Health-West as it prioritizes expansion of its cardiovascular services, cancer, neurosciences, orthopedics and sports medicine.

About Michigan Medicine and University of Michigan Health

At Michigan Medicine, we advance health to serve Michigan and the world. We pursue excellence every day in our 11 hospitals and hundreds of clinics statewide, as well as educate the next generation of physicians, health professionals and scientists in our U-M Medical School.

Michigan Medicine includes U-M Medical School and University of Michigan Health, which includes the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital, University Hospital, the Frankel Cardiovascular Center, Kellogg Eye Center, University of Michigan Health-West, University of Michigan Health-Sparrow and the Rogel Cancer Center. The U-M Medical School is one of the nation's biomedical research powerhouses, with total research awards of more than $777 million. More information is available at michiganmedicine.org
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