Michigan Medicine

With weekend upon us, here's one famous father from our past: William Fleming Breakey, M.D., who graduated from our University of Michigan Medical School just nine years after it opened in 1850, and came back to join the faculty after the Civil War.

In this photo, taken in one of our Catherine Street Hospitals in 1898, he discusses a patient as medical students and a nurse look on. Dr. Breakey helped found our Department of Dermatology and its first residency program.

His son, James Fleming Breakey, earned his U-M medical degree in 1894. James's son, Robert Stevens Breakey, earned his in 1924. Robert's son Barry not only earned his in 1953, but also did his Urology residency in our hospital.

And Barry's son Robert became the fifth "Breakey Boy" in the chain, earning his medical degree in 1981. He practices in the Ann Arbor area, specializing in preventive medicine.

Read about the Breakey medical dynasty here: https://www.michiganmedicine.org/health-lab/breakey-boys

Need a Father's Day outing with your family?

Come to our free exhibit at Ann Arbor's Museum on Main Street, run by the Washtenaw County Historical Society, Saturday or Sunday 12-4 p.m., to see photos and artifacts from across our 175 years.

Find details at https://michmed.org/museum
The exhibit is open weekends through the end of August, and on weekdays by reservation.

Photo: Bentley Historical Library

What can you do to protect your brain as you age, and reduce your chance of dementia including Alzheimer's disease?

A lot.

But as our new poll results show, many Michiganders in their 50s and older don't know that everyday activities, and preventive health-related steps, can be very important to long-term brain health.

Read more about what we found, and what steps you can take at any age to keep your brain healthy over the long term, here:

Michigan’s aging brains need more protection, poll shows Lifestyle changes can reduce risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia but a poll shows many Michiganders over 50 don’t know about or do them.

Today is World Sickle Cell Day.

E'Shon is among the roughly 1 in 2,000 children born with sickle cell disease in the U.S. each year.
For much of his childhood, the condition led to frequent medical crises, hospital stays, missed school days and more than two dozen emergency visits.

Now 12, E'Shon recently traveled to Washington, D.C., to share with lawmakers how specialized care transformed his life and helped him enjoy a more normal childhood.

"It's important to keep kids healthy and make sure they get the best medical care," E'Shon said.

Read more about E'Shon's journey and how advances in sickle cell disease treatment are improving outcomes for children and adults living with the condition: michmed.org/zdVyx

Juneteenth, observed every June 19, marks one of the most significant moments in American history.

The Juneteenth flag tells that story in its symbols: a star for Texas, where the last enslaved people learned of their freedom; a burst representing a new beginning; and an arc on the horizon, pointing toward the future. Today we honor that history, and recommit to the ongoing work of equity, justice, and freedom for all.

💙💚 U-M Health is proud to be a member of the American Society of Transplantation's Living Donor Circle of Excellence program. The program recognizes companies that have policies in place to support the wages of employees who become living donors, and we are pleased to offer this benefit to our employees.

Learn more about the Living Donor Circle of Excellence at LivingDonorCircle.com

🎂🐾Bugle and McCoy turn 7! Team members gathered to celebrate the Paws4Patients pups with cake, pup cups and toys.

Bugle spends his days with the adult emergency services, transplant and C.S. Mott Children's Hospital teams while McCoy brings tail wags to Unit 9C.

Thank you Bugle, McCoy and the Paws4Patients team for the amazing work you do every day!

🧺Chelsea Hospital's Inpatient Rehabilitation picnic is a time to celebrate the amazing work and healing that happens every day. Hosted in the beautiful Chelsea Hospital courtyard, attendees were able to connect through various activities and food.

Thank you to the patients, families, faculty, staff and more who braved the heat and celebrated with us last week!

FIRST-IN-HUMAN: As part of a national clinical trial for patients with difficulty speaking, neurosurgeons at University of Michigan Health completed the first implantation of a Paradromics Inc., wireless brain-computer interface, or BCI.

The study will focus on the device’s long-term safety, as well as assess whether the BCI can restore participants' communication through synthesized text and speech, and help them control a computer.

“This has the potential to be a major step forward as we work toward our goal of helping treat people with paralysis who otherwise lack efficient and effective therapies for preserving communication,” said Dr. Matthew Willsey, who led the implantation.

Click this link to learn more about the Connexus BCI implantation: https://michmed.org/zdV9Z