In February, following the departure of Joyce deJong, DO, the founding chair of the Department of Pathology at WMed who also served as medical examiner for multiple counties in Michigan, a new leadership team was put in place to ensure the continued success of the department and the Office of the Medical Examiner and Forensic Services.
In the Department of Pathology, Prentiss Jones Jr., PhD, is serving as interim chair and he worked closely with Dr. deJong to transition leadership responsibilities before she assumed her new role as the dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine at Michigan State University. Meanwhile, Patrick Hansma, DO, has been appointed as Medical Examiner.
Dr. Jones is the director of Clinical and Forensic Toxicology at WMed, a board-certified forensic toxicologist, and an associate professor in the Department of Pathology.
As interim chair, Dr. Jones is charged with leading a department that boasts five forensic pathologists, two forensic anthropologists, and a pathology assistant. The department also has two fellowship programs in forensic pathology and forensic anthropology. The Department of Pathology is also led by Amanda Fisher-Hubbard, MD, who serves as vice chair and chief of the Division of Neuropathology. A board-certified forensic pathologist and neuropathologist, Dr. Fisher-Hubbard also serves as a deputy medical examiner.
Dr. Jones' career spans more than 40 years, the majority of which he spent working in several roles at The Medical Foundation in South Bend, Indiana. He was the foundation's director of Hospital Laboratory Operations before coming to WMed in 2017.
In his new leadership role, Dr. Jones said he plans to look at the overall structure of the Department of Pathology to ensure that faculty and staff have ample opportunities “to step up and shine.”
“I’m looking at how we can best advance others in the department and reward them for their knowledge through opportunities to grow and share,” he said. “I don’t want people to maintain what they’re doing but instead strive to be a little bit better than they have been and I think we all have it in us. So, when we find our new chair, that transition will be easy with a department that’s functioning and clicking on all cylinders.”
Prior to leaving WMed, Dr. Jones said his predecessor made the wise decision to divide her duties as department chair and medical examiner into two positions.
The Office of the Medical Examiner and Forensic Services currently provides services for 12 counties in Michigan and will add a 13th county later this year. A new forensic pathologist will also be joining the office this year.
Dr. Hansma, who is a board-certified forensic pathologist, program director for the forensic pathology fellowship, and assistant professor in the Department of Pathology, said his primary goal as the new medical examiner is to provide stability while continuing to look for opportunities for growth.
“We really do have a great office,” Dr. Hansma said. “We’re well staffed, well-resourced and we can offer services that other offices cannot.”
Prior to joining the medical school in May 2022, Dr. Hansma served as a deputy medical examiner for Genesee County, as well as Eaton, Ingham, Ionia, Isabella, and Shiawassee counties.
Looking ahead, Dr. Hansma said the ongoing opioid crisis in Michigan and nationwide will continue to be a challenge for the Office of the Medical Examiner. With that in mind, he said he will be working to build and preserve the types of strong relationships Dr. deJong established with state and local leaders to assist in combatting and navigating the crisis.
“They are big shoes to fill,” Dr. Hansma said of Dr. deJong. “My immediate focus is making sure those relationships are in place and as strong as they ever have been.”
A national search for a new chair of the Department of Pathology is underway and being led by Keith Kenter, MD, chair of the medical school’s Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, who is serving as search committee chair.