Page 3 - Wayne Dispatch Pages

The Health and Wellness Connection

Muzammil Ahmed, M.D., urologist and Chief of Medical Staff of Wayne’s Corewell

Hospital, shares the keys to optimal health—and what we can do to achieve it.

By Courtney Conover also occupying a major role in the
It’s not complicated, but it works. hospital’s past.
Dr. Muzammil Ahmed’s morning When Beaumont Wayne abruptly
routine starts at 7:00 a.m. and ade- closed its doors during the first wave
quately prepares him for the day of the pandemic back in 2020,
ahead. Ahmed credits the community for
“I do a short, ten-minute workout, the hospital’s swift reopening. “It cre-
have a moment of prayer and reflec- ated a huge void,” he remembers. “If
tion, and then eat a small, healthy you had a heart attack, if you had to
meal containing protein,” says deliver a baby, suddenly, instead of
Ahmed, 55, an attending urologist doing it here, you’d have to drive 20
who graduated from University of to 30 minutes down the street to
Michigan Medical School in 1993 Dearborn or go all the way to Royal
and has since amassed a broad Oak—or Trenton? It was very tough.
range of experience in his field that Even Garden City was having a hard
spans the past 25 years. time. The pressure from the commu-
It’s a good thing that Ahmed’s nity, from the local elected officials—
days get off to a solid start, after all, our mayor, John Rhaesa, our
because as Chief of Medical Staff at congresswoman Rashida Talib—re-
Corewell Hospital (formerly Beau- ally put pressure on the administra-
mont Wayne) he and his staff consis- tion to open us back up.”
tently aim to impact their patients’ During Beaumont Wayne’s clo-
lives in unprecedented ways. sure, Ahmed says that about 25% of
Corewell is on a mission to improve the staff’s 1,200 people stopped
health, instill humanity, and inspire working altogether due to either re-
hope. tirement or a need to remain home
And like any assignment taken se- with their children, whose schooling
riously, adjustments are often neces- was entirely remote. The remaining
sary. 75% were transitioned to other Beau-
In October 2022, the merged hos- mont locations to help out. The staff
pital system between Beaumont has since worked diligently to re-
Health and Spectrum Health, for- store the hospital—and it’s been a
merly known as BHSH System, be- tremendous undertaking. “In terms
came Corewell Health. Driven by a of staffing, we’re about 80% of where
collection of values defined by five we need to be,” says Ahmed. He goes
Cs—compassion, collaboration, clar- on to say that Corewell is in no way
ity, curiosity, and courage, the hospi- an anomaly—the shortage in staffing
tal’s vision is remarkably is a challenge that the health indus-
straight-forward: A future where try nation-wide has yet to fully re-
health is simple, affordable, equi- cover from. “It’s the same problem
table and exceptional. that all the hospitals have right now,”
“At our core, we are here to help he says.
people be well so they can live their And yet it’s not enough to slow
healthiest life possible,” Corewell Corewell’s momentum.
Health’s president and CEO Tina Says Ahmed, “Things are getting
Freese Decker explained to the De- better, and hospital administration
troit News when the merger was an- Chief of Medical Staff at Corewell Hospital (formerly Beaumont Wayne) Dr. Muzam- realized how important Wayne is to
nounced last year. “We recognize the mil Ahmed. the local community and have really
amazing outcomes and history from a global pandemic. tal,” says Ahmed. “There’s a good put a lot of effort in.” Ahmed says
Beaumont Health and Spectrum “The doctors and nurses that are community feel here, and we want to that plans are in the works for the
Health. Now together, known as here,” Ahmed begins, “A lot of us are give back. We want to see people bet- construction of a new tower that will
Corewell health, we move forward local and were born and raised in ter—and healthier. We have a stake result in an increase in hospital ca-
unified, focused on health and well- this community, so we have a deep in the community.” pacity. A formal announcement
ness for all.” attachment to this place—and have about the project, which is slated to
Therefore, an integrated team is come back [to practice medicine]. At Community. begin this summer, is forthcoming.
essential to bringing that vision to least 75 percent of our medical staff It is a component that plays an in-
life, particularly in the aftermath of live within 20 minutes of the hospi- tegral part in Corewell’s future, while See Health, page 4
The Wayne Dispatch · March 2023 · 3