Fall 2001

Strong leadership in our faculty's practices and clinical affairs has been an attribute of the School of Medicine over the decades. Patients throughout Indiana have received exceptional medical care from IU faculty, and referring physicians know they can rely on our faculty to help resolve the most vexing of clinical problems.

We cannot rest on these past successes in today's health care arena but must continually seek new opportunities. To that end, a key component of the School's Strategic Planning Process, which we recently completed, focused on clinical program planning.

I had the privilege of chairing the committee of twelve physicians and a member of our professional staff who tackled this all-important area. In brief, our strategies entail growing and enhancing our clinical enterprise, improving the patient friendliness of our clinical activities, strengthening partnerships with Wishard Health Services, Clarian Health Partners and the Roudebush VA Medical Center, improving our interactions and timeliness with referring physicians, and further empowering our IU Medical Group clinical practice plans.

Successful pursuit of these clinical strategies requires a strong team. Therein, five outstanding faculty members have assumed leadership roles as part of this plan. They are Robert B. Jones, MD, PhD, associate dean for Wishard affairs; Eric S. Williams, MD, associate dean for Clarian affairs; Kenneth Klotz Jr., MD, associate dean for VA affairs; John F. Fitzgerald, MD, CEO of the IU Medical Group-Primary Care; and William J. Martin II, MD, president and CEO of IU Medical Group-Specialty Care.

This summer, Dr. Martin also accepted the position of executive associate dean for clinical affairs with overall responsibilities for our clinical mission. Originally recruited to direct the Pulmonary and Critical Care Division of the Department of Medicine, Dr. Martin built the division into a nationally recognized program. He brings special experience to this position, having served as a Health Policy Fellow on the U.S. Senate Labor & Human Resources Committee.

I am certain we have a sound clinical strategy to carry us into the future
and the leadership team to realize it. These resources coupled with the incredible strengths of our faculty make me confident about our clinical mission. We should all be excited about future developments and opportunities.

D. Craig Brater, MD
Dean, Indiana University School of Medicine
Walter J. Daly Professor