Consortium Membership
The consortium membership consists of the Wayne State University School of Medicine, the Detroit Medical Center, and seven community-based teaching hospitals in the Detroit Metropolitan area. The member hospitals have more than 6,900 beds. This represents more than half of the total beds in the metropolitan area:

Community Teaching Hospitals

Bon Secours Cottage Health Services
Henry Ford Health System
North Oakland Medical Centers
Oakwood Healthcare System
Providence Hospital and Medical Center
St. John Hospital and Medical Center
St. Joseph Mercy Oakland

Detroit Medical Center Hospitals

Children's Hospital of Michigan
Detroit Receiving Hospital
Harper University Hospital
Huron Valley - Sinai Hospital
Hutzel Hospital
Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan
Sinai-Grace Hospital

Additional Members and Participants
Oakland University and The University of Michigan are participating members in the SEMCME corporation. Each has representation on the Board of Directors and the education committees. SEMCME has a minor affiliation with The University of Michigan Medical School. These universities make a vital contribution to SEMCME's education effort.

William Beaumont Hospital (Ob/Gyn) is a program member of the SEMCME corporation but is not a consortium member. It has membership in the SEMCME Ob/Gyn Committee and participates in the committee's educational activities.

The WSU-SEMCME Consortium is a highly developed multi-institutional organization with a well established working relationship among medical educators. These relationships are the key to effective action and a quicker response time as changes occur in the medical education environment.

A Major Educational Resource in Southeastern Michigan

• Largest community-based medical education consortium in the Midwest
  
• A forum for the exchange of medical education information
  
• Education committees in family practice, internal medicine, Ob/Gyn, surgery, psychiatry, rehabilitation, research, and CME
  
• Full staff support for education committees and activities
  
• More than 25 years experience in supporting medical education in member institutions

• Major affiliation with Wayne State University School of Medicine including undergraduate medical education, GME, and CME
  
• A mechanism to reduce program duplication and to promote effective use of educational funds and other resources
  
• A vehicle to advance medical education quality

An Instrument for Community Action
• A unified vehicle for political action to influence state and national health policies that affect medical education
  
• Established relationship with business corporations to promote medical practice improvement and support medical education

Education is one of the most important elements of medical science. It is the means by which we prepare students to serve in the health professions. it is also the means by which we develop, improve and maintain the skills of physicians and other health care personnel. Through education we disseminate information about the care of patients, the health of the population, and the cost effective use of technology. As such, education is the salient method of enhancing high quality medical care.

The Southeast Michigan Center for Medical Education (SEMCME) is established to carry out the following purposes which enhance health education in the communities we serve:

1. To coordinate, facilitate, and assist the member hospitals and educational institutions in conducting medical and other health education and training programs through the continuum of undergraduate, graduate, and continuing medical education.

2. To coordinate, plan, institute, supervise, manage, finance, and conduct such programs for the benefit of, and as a function of, the member institutions.

3. To foster and promote the delivery of high quality health care in hospitals for the citizens of the communities we serve through the coordination of medical and other health education programs.

4. To promote professionalism, effective communications, and compassion in the training of medical students and resident physicians in the member institutions.

5. To facilitate the participation of the members and other institutions in new methods, procedures, and programs in medical and other health education as they are developed.

The Southeast Michigan Center for Medical Education (SEMCME) was established in 1974 for the purpose of coordinating and assisting in the education of medical care personnel in southeastern Michigan. Its primary mission is to stimulate the delivery of quality care through excellence in education.

According to the SEMCME archives, the earliest discussions about creating a medical education consortium occurred in 1969. Through the years that followed, this effort gained momentum, and in 1973, six hospitals (Crittenton, Pontiac General, Pontiac Osteopathic, Providence, St. Joseph Mercy, and William Beaumont) and three universities (Oakland, The University of Michigan, and Wayne State) signed an agreement declaring their intentions to establish an educational corporation. A year later in the fall of 1974, the Oakland Health Education Program was formally incorporated, and, in 1976, a permanent office and staff were established.

As SEMCME's functions have shifted in response to a changing medical care environment, its membership has also changed. In 1982, the Board of Directors began to explore the expansion of SEMCME membership and in 1983 established new membership categories (program, associate, and full). Likewise, the membership service area was expanded to include the whole metropolitan area. At the end of 1983, Crittenton Hospital and William Beaumont Hospital withdrew from full membership. St. John Hospital joined SEMCME as a program member in 1984, became an associate member in 1989, and a full member in 1991. Mt. Carmel Mercy Hospital became an associated member in 1984 and a full member in 1986. Grace Hospital acquired Mt. Carmel in 1990 and replaced it as a full member. Beaumont Hospital returned as a program member in Ob/Gyn in 1987, became an associate member in 1990 with the addition of Family Practice, withdrew from membership in 1993, and returned as a program member in Ob/Gyn in 1994. In 1989, Oakwood Healthcare System joined as a program member in Internal Medicine followed by Bon Secours Hospital which joined in 1990 as a program member in Internal Medicine.

In 1989-90 SEMCME made several major changes to reflect its continued growth as an area health education center. SEMCME changed its name to the Southeast Michigan Center for Medical Education (SEMCME) and moved its offices to a more central location. In September 1990, the Wayne State University School of Medicine, the Detroit Medical Center, and the Southeast Michigan Center for Medical Education (SEMCME) signed major affiliation agreements in Internal Medicine and Continuing Medical Education. A third affiliation agreement in family practice was added in 1993. Sinai Hospital of Detroit, which joined SEMCME in 1992 as a program member in surgery and became an associate member with the addition of family practice in 1993, became a full member in January 1994. In 1993, Bon Secours Hospital added family practice to become an SEMCME associate member. In December 1993, the Detroit Medical Center joined SEMCME as a full member in a new category, multi-hospital system membership. The addition of these new members effectively doubled SEMCME's size.

In 1996, the Henry Ford Health System joined the SEMCME organization for the first time as a program member in Ob/Gyn. Another event in 1996, SEMCME and the WSU School of Medicine signed a fourth affiliation agreement in surgery and officially established the WSU-SEMCME Medical Education Consortium by signing their general consortium agreement. In 1998, Oakwood Healthcare System expanded its membership from program member to full member. Henry Ford Health System became a full member in 2000.

The consortium and its new programs are unique in the country, combining the strengths of the medical school and the community teaching hospitals to enhance medical teaching and promote quality care in southeastern Michigan.