DeVos Medical Ethics Colloquy moves to GVSU

DeVos Medical Ethics Colloquy moves to GVSU

Helen and Richard DeVos, bottom row, and Luis Tomatis, director of medical affairs for RDV Corporation, left, and Thomas Haas, president of GVSU, commemorate the gift that will support the DeVos Medical Ethics Colloquy. Courtesy GVSU

A bi-annual medical and ethics forum is under new direction and leadership after GVSU received a gift from the Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation.

Grand Valley State University said this week that the gift will allow the school to produce and host the DeVos Medical Ethics Colloquy series, which is free and open to the public. GVSU didn’t disclose the amount of the gift.

Continuing the series

Richard and Helen DeVos indicated in a written statement they have been proud and honored to have their name associated with the bi-annual event and have been making plans to assure its future by accepting a proposal by GVSU to gradually assume the direction and operation of the series, starting in 2015.

“We feel happy we are able to leave the DeVos Medical Ethics Colloquy in able hands that will continue what we have started for the benefit of the health professions, the academic institutions and the patients who are the ultimate beneficiaries of these discussions,” Richard and Helen DeVos said in the statement.

Jean Nagelkerk, vice provost for Health at GVSU, said the community and students will benefit tremendously form hearing experts discuss ethical issues both medical professionals and society are facing.

“This gift will allow health science students, health care professionals and community members to join innovative discussions in the context of delivering quality, cost-effective, patient-centered care in communities,” Nagelkerk said.

Since its establishment in 2005, the DeVos Medical Ethics Colloquy has been under the leadership of Dr. Luis Tomatis, director of medical affairs at RDV Corporation.

The forum will transition to the Office of the Vice Provost for Health at GVSU as of this month.

Nagelkerk will oversee the series, while Tomatis will continue to serve as secretary of the organizing committee.

“Ethics of Resource Allocations Across the Lifespan”

The DeVos Medical Ethics Colloquy is a bi-annual moderated discussion on medical and ethical topics, such as end-of-life care, health care reform and genetic testing.

The free event takes places in the spring and fall. The next discussion on “Ethics of Resource Allocations Across the Lifespan” is scheduled for Oct. 26, from 5:30-8:10 p.m., at the GVSU Cook-DeVos Center for Health Sciences in Grand Rapids.

The event will feature a pair of speakers: Mildred Solomon, president and CEO for The Hastings Center, and Frederick Zimmerman, professor in the department of Health Policy and Management at UCLA.

Reverend Julius Medenblik, president of Calvin Theological Seminary, will moderate the discussion.