Dick Ammons provided the invocation today on perseverance, followed by God Bless America. President Jack mentioned two events the previous night, the annual Empty Plate dinner and the Small Business Association dinner, led by Chris Holman, who spoke and spoke and spoke. Jenn Dubey resurrected the Hands On Committee’s commitment to the Red Cross, rallying seven Rotarians to install smoke alarms in many homes in our community. Way to go Jenn! Next up, the Hands On Committee will build a home with Lansing Habitat for Humanity. Stay tuned for the date and more info. Paula Cunningham was recognized for receiving the Sojourner Truth Award by the Association for Professional Women – a well-deserved honor! Donna Gardner spoke about the Paul Harris Campaign, which has raised $17,000 to date with more commitments to come. We exceeded her monetary goal but not her participation goal of 100% of the club. We stand at 43% participation (compared to 40% last year) but there is still time to make a gift of any size. The club celebrated Paul Harris and the 100th anniversary of Rotary International Foundation, singing Happy Birthday and enjoying cake. The District Conference is May 12-13 in Battle Creek; Lansing Rotary will be recognized Saturday for our anniversary and Duane Vernon will be presented Friday with the Rotary Hero award. A warm welcome to Maria Lenz with Eaton Federal Savings Bank, who received her red badge. Ken Beachler introduced special music, cast members from “Catch Me If You Can,” opening June 8 at Riverwalk. Michelle Lantz and Justin Sheehan announced it was College Decision Making Day for 50 high school students. Our speaker of the day was Dr. George Kikano, Dean of Central Michigan University’s new College of Medicine. He opened with the grave announcement, “We have a problem with healthcare – not to get political.” We spend 18% of our GDP on healthcare, our infant mortality rate is going the wrong direction, and we have a severe shortage of healthcare physicians and that shortage is growing. Several years ago, CMU’s Board of Trustees decided to try to fill the gap and developed a medical school curriculum that is unique. “We know what we are and what we are not.” Eighty percent of their med students are from Michigan, and their goal is to retain them in Michigan. This year CMU had 5500 applicants for 100 positions. Everything else being equal among the applicants, CMU gives priority to students from Michigan. Credentials like a high GPA and published papers don’t matter; they look for personality, leadership skills, communication skills, and commitment to teamwork and the mission. Each student is known by name, and the college assigns three staff to each student. Currently, 50% of grads stay in Michigan, and he is hoping for 60-65% next year. Less than one third of their curriculum is lectures. Instead, the college focuses on team-based, case-based learning, with clinical experience starting in year one. By the third year, students are in a “clerkship” residency, imbedded in a community. If they understand the community and feel part of it, they are more likely stay. It is a true team approach – they learn how to work with nurses, social workers, receptionists – everyone on the team. “We are unique.” During Q & A, the question was raised as to whether reduced credentials for new students dilutes the quality of the doctors. Dr. Kikano said absolutely not. What dilutes quality today is the for-profit medical schools, unaccredited medical schools in the Caribbean, and online medical schools. CMU is creating well-rounded students, not just scientifically smart; the school is not competing for the same core students as other medical schools. Three Rotary clubs in the Saginaw area collaborated on a fundraising campaign called “Thanks for Staying” to create a fund to provide debt repayment incentives to medical students who stay in the community. A Rotarian cited the need for more funding to meet the healthcare needs of rural and poor populations. Dr. Kikano said we don’t need more money in healthcare to meet these needs. We need better healthcare structure and programming – we incentivize the wrong things. When asked for his opinion on Obamacare versus Trumpcare, Dr. Kikano said we need healthcare reform, and neither plan will address disparities and misalignments. Both plans have the same lobbying groups – don’t trust the numbers they give you. |