Henry Ford Hospital - Historical Highlights: 1980s - 1990s

Conrad R. Lam, M.D. was recognized by Shiley and Deknatel Laboratories as one of the top ten pioneers of cardiac surgery in the world. Dr. Lam performed over 8,500 operations during his 51 years of service at Henry Ford Hospital.

Drs. Fred W. Whitehouse and Dorothy A. Kahkonen were the first physicians in Michigan to administer human insulin to a patient with diabetes.

Joseph L. Ponka, M.D. publishes teaching book, Hernias of the Abdominal Wall. Read more about Dr. Ponka.

Shiro Fujita, M.D., a Henry Ford otolaryngologist, developed a procedure called uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) to enlarge the oropharyngeal airway in patients with sleep apnea.

Maplegrove Center in West Bloomfield opened for the treatment of alcoholic and chemically dependent patients. Former first lady Betty Ford spoke at the dedication. The facility included 50 beds for adults and adolescents and was staffed by Henry Ford Hospital medical staff.

Henry Ford Hospital took part in the first multiple vital organ harvest with the Transplant Society of Michigan.

Henry Ford Hospital obtained a Digital Video Subtraction Angiography (DVSA) instrument, which was the first in Michigan. The latest in radiology computer equipment allowed physicians to view if blood vessels were functioning properly.

Evelyn Fisher, M.D. of Infectious Diseases, treated the first AIDS patient at Henry Ford Hospital. Dr. Fisher, along with the team of Norman Markowitz, M.D., social worker Madelyn Markowitz, and nurse Kevin Frasier, made up the first team to care for the hospital's AIDS patients and educate the community about the disease. 

Michael Simoff, M.D. established the Interventional Pulmonology (IP) Program at the hospital. 

Oscar A. Carretero, M.D. and the Henry Ford Hospital Hypertension Laboratory received $3.7 million to study the role of hormones in blood pressure. The five-year grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) was the largest single research grant ever awarded to a Henry Ford Hospital laboratory.

Mary Cantrell, M.D. was appointed as the Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology. She was the first woman to hold this position as well as the first woman to become a chair of a medical department at the hospital.

The Henry Ford Hospital Emergency Department moved into the Eleanor Clay Ford Pavilion under the direction of Michael Tomlanovich, M.D. The department achieved the independent status as a level 1 trauma center.

The Home Health Care program was established at Henry Ford Hospital for services to homebound patients.

Henry Ford Hospital was one of 29 medical centers in the U.S. to participate in the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT), a major 10-year clinical study funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. The study demonstrated that keeping blood glucose levels near normal slowed the progression of organ damage from diabetes. It remains one of the most important research trials in diabetes management. The hospital's program was directed by Dr. Fred Whitehouse.

P.C. Shetty, M.D., Head of the Division of Diagnostic Radiology, and Raymond Littleton, M.D. of the Department of Urology, announced the use of the new procedure for the removal of kidney stones using low-frequency ultrasound. The percutaneous nephroscope extraction of renal stones was non-invasive, provided shorter hospital recovery time, and was cost efficient.

Fareed Khaja, M.D. of Cardiovascular Medicine was featured throughout the country for his research findings related to streptokinase therapy for restoring blood supply to the heart muscle of heart attack victims.

On February 3, Dr. Denton Cooley, Surgeon-In-Chief at the Texas Heart Institute, lectured at Henry Ford Hospital on the issues of rising health care costs. The event inaugurated the Conrad R. Lam Lectureship in recognition of Conrad R. Lam, M.D. who retired in 1983 after fifty-one years of service. Read more about the Conrad R. Lam Lectureship. 

The Henry Ford Hospital Referring Physician's Office was established to assist patients with choosing physicians and scheduling appointments.

The Henry Ford Hospital Center at Lakeside was opened to the public.

Henry Ford Hospital was the site of the Detroit area's first heart transplant. The cardiac transplant team was led by Drs. Fraser Keith, Donald J. Magilligan, Jr., and Jeffrey Lakier. Within the next five years, 100 transplants had been performed at the hospital with one of the nation's best survival rates. Read more about this important event.

The Heart and Vascular Institute was announced to the general public. The Institute encompasses cardiovascular medicine, cardiac and thoracic surgery, vascular surgery, and hypertension research services. It was co-directed by Drs. Sidney Goldstein and Donald J. Magilligan, Jr.

The LifeShare program was launched to promote organ donation awareness.

The first extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (EWSL) in Michigan was performed at Henry Ford Hospital. This non-invasive procedure breaks kidney stones into sand-like grains that are easily passed from the body.

Cottage Health Services Corporation, including Cottage Hospital and two nursing homes, became affiliated with Henry Ford Health Care Corporation.

Kingswood Hospital, a psychiatric facility in Ferndale founded by a private group of doctors in 1965, became affiliated with the Henry Ford Health Care Corporation.

The Henry Ford Bone and Joint Center was established. It was the first multidisciplinary medical/surgical department of its type in Michigan.

Heart Smart® services were introduced in restaurants and in grocery stores to promote heartwise diet and lifestyle choices.

Sparky Anderson, former manager of the Detroit Tigers baseball team, founded CATCH (Caring Athletes Team for Children’s and Henry Ford Hospitals) a charitable organization to provide funds for needy pediatric patients at Children's Hospital and Henry Ford Hospital. Dr. Clarence S. Livingood was one of the founding trustees of the organization.

Drs. Heung Oh and Daniel Reddy perform the hospital's first pancreas transplant in May 1987.

In June, Henry Ford Hospital participated in a rare multi-organ procurement from a single donor. Three HFH transplant patients received a new heart, pancreas, and kidney, respectively, from a single donor. Drs. Daniel Reddy and Heung Oh procured and transplanted the pancreas. Dr. Donald J. Magilligan Jr. procured the heart and assisted Dr. Fraser Keith with its transplantation. Dr. Stanley Dienst transplanted the kidney. 

The hospital performed its first valvuloplasty, a nonsurgical procedure to unblock a heart valve and improve blood flow to the heart. The procedure was first pioneered in France by Alain Cribier, M.D. at the University of Rouen. Dr. Cribier worked in tandem with Henry Ford cardiologist, Fareed Khaja, M.D. on the operation at Henry Ford Hospital which used a balloon-tipped catheter threaded through an artery in the groin to unblock the valve.

Barcoding was introduced in the Henry Ford Hospital Medical Records Department as a method to track patient records.

The first use of iodine radium implant seeds in Michigan is at Henry Ford Hospital. These "seeds" are used to combat cancerous cells in the prostate.

Gail Warden became the President and Chief Executive Officer of Henry Ford Health Care Corporation.

Henry Ford Hospital established a center for the treatment of conditions affecting the human voice called the Center for the Performing Artist, the first of its kind in Michigan.

Nalini Janakiramen, M.D. established the Bone Marrow Stem Cell Transplant Program, which has grown to be the largest bone marrow transplant patient unit in Michigan.

Henry Ford Health Care Corporation and the City of Wyandotte signed a 20-year lease of the Wyandotte General Hospital and Medical Center.

An orthotropic liver transplant, the first at the hospital and in Detroit, was performed by Martin F. Mozes, M.D. and Richard Dow, M.D. This began the hospital's liver transplantation program.

The Department of Neurology unveiled the neuromagnetometer lab, one of only sixteen in the world, and was the only research center using the device to study migraines.

The Center for Clinical Effectiveness was established by Wilmer Rutt, M.D. in order to develop clinical guidelines. The Center was one of the first of its kind in the nation and the first in Michigan.

Clarence S. Livingood, M.D., Chairman of the Department of Dermatology, was awarded the prestigious American Medical Association's Distinguished Service Award. He was the first physician in Michigan to receive this honor.

The Henry Ford Hospital Care Corporation was renamed Henry Ford Health System.

Henry Ford Health System implemented the quality management process. The hospital was one of the first in the country to begin this work. The goal was to improve the quality of health care delivery and services for patients, employees, and the community.

Wilmer Rutt, M.D., Director of the Center for Clinical Effectiveness, received a grant for $10.3 million from the National Cancer Institute. It was the largest single research grant ever awarded at the hospital and was part of a national randomized clinical trial to investigate ways to reduce deaths related to major cancers. Henry Ford Hospital was one of ten institutions nationwide taking part in the study called the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial.

Mark Rosenblum, M.D. became chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery and director of the residency training program. Dr. Rosenblum would go on to develop and co-direct the Hermelin Brain Tumor Center, Henry Ford Hospital's brain tumor research center,  

The Diversified Service Group under John Polanski began the Medical Information Management System (MIMS). The use of this computer system to input clinic notes marked the start of electronic medical records at the hospital.

Radiosurgery, a type of high energy radiation used to destroy deep-seated brain tumors, began being used at the hospital under the direction of Jae Ho Kim, M.D., Chairman of Radiation Oncology.

Henry Ford Health System began to offer fertility services at the Troy medical center. The Henry Ford In Vitro Fertilization Program was one of six programs in the country. Alexander Dlugi, M.D., Program Director from the Division of Human Reproductive Endocrinology, introduced a multidisciplinary approach to in vitro fertilization. Henry Ford Health System first began work in this field in 1988.

The Henry Ford Bone and Joint Center under Scott Tashman, Ph.D., head of the motion analysis section, unveiled a new high tech research lab for the study of joint movement through experimental analysis and computer technology. The Herrick-Davis Motion Analysis Laboratory was supported by Margrite Davis and the Henry Ford Health System trustee, Kenneth G. Herrick.

Health Alliance Plan (HAP) became Detroit's first HMO to be fully accredited by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).

Henry Ford Health System took part in a $10.2 million heart study and was one of eight research institutions to receive a grant from the NIH National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to investigate coronary heart disease. Fareed Khaja, M.D., Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, was the principal investigator on the work.

Henry Ford Hospital performed the first lung transplant in Detroit. This made the hospital the only facility in metropolitan Detroit to perform all solid organ transplants.

The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) awarded Henry Ford Health System the first National Quality Award for Health Care Integration.

The Josefina B. Magno Endowed Chair in Hospice Care is established, one of the first of its kind in the country.

Henry Ford Health System establishes one of the first four tinnitus (ringing in the ear) centers in the country. The center is located in Grosse Pointe Farms.

Henry Ford Hospital was designated as the first headache research center in the United States by the National Institutes of Health.

The Henry Ford Cancer Center conducted Michigan's first radiosurgery treatments for patients with inoperable tumors using the three-dimensional x-knife system.

The Heart and Vascular Institute celebrated 10 years of transplantation.

The Henry Ford Taste and Smell Center opened and is one of ten in the country that treats patients with loss of taste and smell.

Henry Ford Health System opened the Center for Senior Independence. This is a comprehensive set of programs that assist the elderly with living independently in their homes and in the community.

Henry Ford Hospital was selected as the only Michigan radiology facility to offer catheter-guided placement of a device for the treatment of high-risk inoperable brain aneurysms.

Henry Ford Health System President and Chief Executive Officer Gail L. Warden began his one-year term as Chairman of the American Hospital Association (AHA). Henry Ford is the only institution in the nation to have three of its chief executives serve as AHA Chairman.

The William Clay Ford Center for Athletic Medicine opened in the New Center area as a joint venture with the General Motors Corporation. The center contains FitnessWorks and cardiac rehabilitation services.

Evelyn Fisher, M.D. was given the 'Michiganians of the Year' award for her work in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

Henry Ford Hospital performed a cross-racial, living kidney transplant between two friends. It was the first in Michigan and one of only two dozen performed in the United States.

Henry Ford Hospital's transplant team, led by Marwan Abouljoud, M.D., performed the first split-liver transplant in Michigan.

Henry Ford School of Nursing graduates its last class of nurses.

Henry Ford Medical Group joined the American Medical Association making it the largest medicine group in the AMA.

Sandcastles, a grief support program for children who have lost a loved one, is established by Henry Ford Hospice.

Josephine Ford, granddaughter of Henry Ford and former HFH Board of Trustee member, donated 10 million dollars to fund the ongoing cancer research program. The center was renamed the Josephine Ford Cancer Center in her honor.

The $75 million, 185,000 square foot Henry Ford II Pavilion was dedicated and opened to provide state-of-the-art, patient focused care.

C. Edward Coffey, M.D., chair of the Department of Psychiatry, made international news when he published research in the Archives of Neurology showing that the male brain shrinks faster than the female brain.

The transplant program received $2.5 million to fund a research endowed chair in the name of the late Benson Ford. The chair was established to focus on the transplantation of the kidney, pancreas, and liver; and to increase awareness of organ donation among the public.

The State of Michigan awarded Henry Ford Health System a $320,000 grant for a program to target preventable disease in African American men. The African American Initiative for Male Health Improvement (AIMHI) program focused on preventing diabetes, stroke, and eye diseases.