Introducing Melvin Blanchard, MD, Chair, Department of Medicine

I am delighted to be part of a well-run community academic health system whose mission and vision permeate the organizational culture and guide us as we meet the health needs of its community. The GBMC ethos of patient safety and quality – which assures a drive to continuously improve the delivery of medical care – resonates with me.

Recently, the hospital modified its mission to include "educating the next generation of clinicians." This represents another important avenue to fulfill the promise of always providing the highest quality medical care, because health systems involved in training the next generation of clinicians are pushed to deliver the best care, today.

I have summarized our mission and vision statements into a guiding principle for the Department of Medicine:

We will consistently deliver the best medical care (care we want for ourselves and loved ones) and teach others how to do the same.

This principle operates on many levels. At the level of patient care, we want our systems for delivering the best care to be standardized and reliably followed. We want those systems to evolve as evidence changes, and we want to share this knowledge among our physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses and allied staff. At the regional and national levels, we want to disseminate what we do well through medical literature and other national venues.

Specific early projects include:

1. Transforming our Internal Medicine Residency Program into a best-in-class residency nationally, that "develops Internal Medicine physician leaders who practice evidence-based medicine; who transform health systems to be patient-centered, safe and efficient; and who promote the health and wellness of self and others." These physicians will be a pipeline for the future high quality medical care of patients in our community.

2. Developing our division leaders, building programs and services needed by our community, and fostering productive collaborations with nursing to facilitate consistent delivery of the type of medical care we would want for our own loved ones.

3. Build upon GBMCs existing culture of Lean Daily Management to further promote exceptional patient care throughout the medicine service line.

4. Support our physicians and non-physician providers to consistently apply current state medical knowledge and skill in the care of all patients.

4. Recognizing our physicians for the qualities GBMC seeks to promote, and identifying and nominating our physicians for regional and national awards that enhance the national reputation of physicians and GBMC alike.