FOUR RECEIVE MSUCOM’S HIGHEST HONOR

May 31 , 2006

Contact: Pat Grauer, grauer@msu.edu; (517) 353-0616

A legislator, an administrator and two osteopathic physicians have received the Walter F. Patenge Medals of Public Service, the highest awards offered by the Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine and the Michigan Osteopathic Medicine Advisory Board.  The presentations were made Thursday evening at the University Club on the MSU campus.

Recipients included U.S. Representative Joe Schwarz, M.D., of Battle Creek, Dennis M. Paradis of Williamston, Paul Edward LaCasse, D.O., of West Bloomfield, and Joseph A. Balog, D.O.(posthumously) of White Lake. (Citations follow this release.)

The awards, named for a Lansing industrialist and philanthropist, are offered each year to persons who are exemplars in education, medicine or public service.

Representative Schwarz, an ear, nose and throat specialist for 30 years, served as Battle Creek’s mayor from 1984-86, and as a Michigan Senator from 1986 to 2002, serving as president pro tempore of that body the last ten years.  In 2004, he was elected to the 7^th Congressional District, which stretches as band across southern Michigan. He is recognized for his commitment to higher education, enhancing health care systems, and strong national defense. 

Paradis, the executive director of the Michigan Osteopathic Association since 1996, has dedicated his career to the improvement of health care, especially in the arenas of policy and communication. He had formerly served as deputy director of the Michigan Association of HMOs, as vice president for government and regulatory affairs of the Michigan Hospital Association, and worked in health policy for the Michigan Senate, the Michigan State Medical Society, and the Michigan House of Representatives. He also has participated in relief programs in Ecuador, Honduras and India.

Dr. LaCasse, president and chief executive officer of Botsford General Hospital in Farming ton Hills, has served nearly three decades to improve health care in Southeast Michigan. He began at Botsford as an emergency department physician from 1979 to 1993, and entered management as medical director in 1999, rising as vice president and chief medical officer, and then executive vice president and chief operating officer before assuming his current post in 2005.  Dr. LaCasse also served Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan from 1985 to 1989 as a senior medical consultant and associate medical director.

Dr. Balog, who died in 2005, was a lifelong supporter of the osteopathic profession, and had served as president of the Michigan Association of Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons in 1987.  A general surgeon who practiced at Pontiac Osteopathic Hospital for 39 years, he also worked at Huron Valley Hospital in Commerce Township and Crittenton Hospital in Rochester.  He was elected president of the Michigan Osteopathic College Foundation, a fellow of the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons, and a board member of the American Osteopathic Association.

The MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine was recently named the fourth best medical school in the United States for primary education by U.S.News & World Report. The Michigan Osteopathic Medicine Advisory Board is appointed by and reports to the governor on osteopathic education in the state.

CITATIONS

Representative Joe Schwarz, M.D.

As a physician, a Michigan State legislator, and now a U.S. Representative from Michigan’s 7^th District, Dr. Joe Schwarz has been a staunch advocate for improvements in health care, education, economic development and security. 

Elected initially to Michigan’s Senate in 1986, he was elevated to leadership in 1993 as president pro tempore, a position he served for ten years. Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education and a member of the Health Policy Committee, he was recognized as forceful advocate for science and medicine, and for accessibility to higher education.

Dr. Schwarz practiced otolaryngology for more than 30 years in Battle Creek, where he was a member of the city commission and the mayor.  He served two tours of duty in the U.S. Navy, the first in Vietnam and the second as assistant naval attaché to the U.S. Embassy in Djakarta, Indonesia, and then remained in Southeast Asia as an operative of the Central Intelligence Agency. A graduate of the University of Michigan, he received his medical degree from Wayne State University.

For his committed work in public service at local, state and national levels, for his advocacy of health care and higher education, for his defense of his country abroad, we today recognized Dr. Joe Schwarz with the Walter F. Patenge Medal of Public Service.

Dennis M. Paradis, M.P.H.

Dennis M. Paradis has established a significant reputation in Michigan as an accomplished executive and an expert in health care policy and government relations.  The executive director of the Michigan Osteopathic Association since 1996, he has served as both a strong representative and leader of the osteopathic profession during a time of chaotic change in the health care industry.

Previously he had served as deputy director of the Michigan Association of HMOs, and group vice president for government and regulatory affairs at the Michigan Hospital Association.  Mr. Paradis also worked as a health policy consultant for the Michigan Senate, chief of the Health Care Policy Section for the Michigan State Medical Society, health policy analyst for the Michigan House of Representatives, and a police officer for the City of East Lansing. He has extensive international experience, including work in Ecuador, Honduras and India.

For his commitment to enhancing the Michigan Osteopathic Association, his significant contributions to the students, faculty and staff of the MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine, his advocacy on behalf of osteopathic profession, and his concerted efforts to improve the health of the citizens of this state through enlightened policy, we recognize Dennis M. Paradis with the Walter F. Patenge Medal of Public Service. 

Paul Edward LaCasse, D.O., M.P.H., F.A.C.O.E.P.

Dr. Paul Edward LaCasse, president and chief executive officer of Botsford General Hospital in Farmington Hills, Michigan, has a distinguished career in both the administration and practice of osteopathic medicine.

A fellow of the American College of Osteopathic Emergency Physicians, Dr. LaCasse began his work at Botsford as an emergency department physician in 1979, and was named medical director, vice president and chief medical officer, and executive vice president and chief operating officer. He also served three posts at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan – associate medical director of provider services, senior medical consultant of health care affairs, and medical consultant of precertification programs.

The member of numerous osteopathic and medical administrative organizations, he is a past president and board member of the Oakland County Osteopathic Association, a board member of the Greater Detroit Area Health Council, a past chairman and board member of the Michigan Health and Hospital Association, and a state delegate and member of Regional Policy Board 5 of the American Hospital Association.

For his contributions to health care at the local and state levels, for his vision of excellence of hospital care for Michigan, and for his service to the osteopathic profession, we award the Walter F. Patenge Medal today to Dr. Paul LaCasse

Joseph A. Balog, D.O.

Dr. Joseph A. Balog exemplified a lifetime of commitment, both in his practice of medicine and in his service to the advancement of the osteopathic profession and osteopathic education.

Certified in general surgery and a fellow of both the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons and the International College of Surgeons, Dr. Balog was the president of the Michigan Association of Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons, president of the Michigan Osteopathic College Foundation, and a member of the Board of Trustees of the American Osteopathic Association.

A clinical faculty member in surgery at MSUCOM, Dr. Balog served as chief of surgery, chief of staff, and vice president of staff at Pontiac Osteopathic Hospital.  A member of the Michigan Osteopathic Association Board of Trustees, he also served as the editor of its journal.  He was a hospital inspector for internship accreditation and chairman of the Committee of Health-Related Policies for the American Osteopathic Association.

Dr. Balog did his undergraduate studies at Wayne State University, and received his D.O. degree from the College of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1965. 

For his commitment to the osteopathic profession, for his promotion of osteopathic education, for his leadership and dedicated service, we today posthumously award the Walter F. Patenge Medal of Public Service to Dr. Joseph A. Balog.