The Wayne County Medical Society of Southeast Michigan, founded in 1849 by Detroit doctors, is the largest and one of the most active county medical societies in the state of Michigan.
The Society offers many services to its members such as the Detroit Medical News, the Society’s quarterly newsletter and monthly e-edition, featuring important information about WCMSSM activities, new members, services, legislative and news updates, historical reminiscences and discussions of current issues. Other free services offered include reimbursement support, legal counsel, and educational opportunities.
WCMSSM is strongly involved in community support and awareness through the Violence Reduction Task Force. It also acts as an advocate for the profession in the state, speaking out on matters that impact the future of medicine and of physicians’ rights.
The Society sends 52 delegates to the Michigan State Medical Society’s annual meeting, where they represent the society in debates on resolutions and in MSMS elections. The resolutions, frequently more than a hundred at an annual meeting, often focus on issues of public health relating to Michigan’s Medicaid program, tobacco control, protecting the physician-patient relationship, and defending physician rights in managed care and the scope of practice.
WCMSSM supports a number of charitable and educational activities, including the Charles C. Vincent MD Memorial Scholarship, the Beaumont Lectureship and the Francis P. Rhoades MD Memorial Lectureship. These activities support the Society’s mission to educate its membership and the patients those physicians serve. The Beaumont Lecture highlights scientific accomplishments, the Rhoades Lecture tends to feature the societal and economic aspects of the practice of medicine, and the Vincent Scholarship offers financial assistance to deserving African-American medical students from Detroit who attend the Wayne State University School of Medicine.
The Wayne County Medical Society Foundation was established by WCMSSM in 1987 for charitable, scientific, literary, and educational purposes. The physicians of the Wayne County Medical Society will support through its Foundation the development of programs directed to: prevention of domestic abuse; advancement of the health behavior of adolescents; and improvements of the health status of children.
WCMSSM advocates for physicians and patients through legislative, public health and business initiatives, and it promotes the core values and code of ethics to which members of the medical profession adhere. It is an organization that provides its members with various social activities, a political outlet, and a forum for debate. Most importantly, it is an organization of physicians – men and women of every race and ethnic group – who are devoted to their profession, and are determined to better its condition as they pass it on to future generations.