A miracle cure

In 1869 U-M opened the first-university-owned medical facility in the U.S. It was an understated affair: The 20-bed hospital was located in the residence of a former professor. There were no wards or operating rooms.

Today, Michigan Medicine is home to one of the largest health care complexes in the world. It has been the site of many groundbreaking medical and technological advancements since the Medical School first opened in 1850.

This video, “A Miracle Cure,” is the fifth installment in Detroit Public Television’s series “An Uncommon Education: Celebrating 200 Years of the University of Michigan.” Here, the lens is trained on the history of Michigan Medicine, whose hospitals and health centers are among the top 20 in the nation, according to the 2016-2017 U.S. News & World Report rankings.

Tune in every month!

This short-form documentary series airs on DPTV throughout 2017 as part of a multimedia effort to recognize 200 years of the University’s role as an educator and institution in the state, nation, and world. Vignettes appear in one-minute broadcasts on DPTV during prime-time and weekend station breaks.

Spread over 10 broadcast and web vignettes, the series tracks the evolution of how the institution ignited the sparks necessary for world-changing minds, attitudes, and accomplishments from the 19th century through the new millennium. Even the earliest stories of the University’s origins will not just deal with sepia-toned recollections, but will trace the repercussions of those events into our contemporary times and the future.

A new vignette airs every month, culminating with a broadcast special to air in December 2017.

Star sightings

Guests include President Mark Schlissel, former President Mary Sue Coleman, Athletic Director Warde Manuel, author and Michigan Today contributor James Tobin, Spectrum Center co-founder Jim Toy, and Angela Dillard, the Earl Lewis Collegiate Professor of Afroamerican and African Studies in the Residential College, and associate dean of undergraduate education, LSA.

Series topics run the gamut, including the role of science at U-M, the University’s musical legacy, global outreach, social justice on campus, innovation, and the work of Michigan Medicine, U-M’s academic medical center.

The videos also will appear on the U-M YouTube channel.

“An Uncommon Education: Celebrating 200 Years of the University of Michigan” is made possible by a grant from the Stanley & Judith Frankel Family Foundation.