DETROIT, Jan. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation announced a new board chairwoman and vice president, a new grants committee chairman and two new board members. (NOTE: The BCBSM Foundation board is separate from the BCBSM corporate board of directors.)
Shauna Ryder Diggs, M.D., becomes chairwoman of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation board. Joel Ferguson becomes foundation board vice president. Willard S. Stawski, M.D., becomes chairman of the foundation’s grants committee. Peter B. Ajluni, D.O., and Krishna K. Sawhney, M.D., were elected as new foundation board members.
Dr. Diggs is a board-certified dermatologist in private practice in Grosse Pointe Farms. She serves as the medical director for Cosmetic Service for the Laser Surgery Institute of the DMC Sinai-Grace Hospital and is on staff at Providence Hospital. She has served on the BCBSM Foundation’s board of directors since 1999 and also serves as a board member of Blue Care Network of Michigan. Dr. Diggs lives in Grosse Pointe Park.
Joel Ferguson is vice chairman of the board of trustees at Michigan State University and has served on the BCBSM Foundation board and grants committee since 1989. He lives in Lansing.
Dr. Stawski, a past president of the Kent County Medical Society Foundation, has served on the BCBSM Foundation’s board since 1996. He is a former board member of the Michigan State Medical Society. He also is a board-certified surgeon on staff at Spectrum Health, a past governor of the American College of Surgeons and a member of the American Medical Association’s House of Delegates. He lives in Grand Rapids.
Newly-elected board members Dr. Ajluni and Dr. Sawhney also formerly served as corporate board members for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.
Dr. Ajluni is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon at Mount Clemens General Hospital, who served on the BCBSM corporate board from 1989 to 1994. In 2003, he received the Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine’s Walter F. Patenge Medal of Public Service for his service to the osteopathic profession and public health. Dr. Ajluni is a past president of the Michigan Osteopathic Association. He lives in Bloomfield Hills.
Dr. Sawhney, a past president of the Michigan State Medical Society, is a general vascular surgeon and chief of surgery at Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital, and president of the American Medical Association Foundation. He lives in Bloomfield Hills.
“These experienced health care professionals bring diverse backgrounds and expertise to the foundation’s board,” said Ira Strumwasser, executive director and CEO of the BCBSM Foundation. “They will strengthen the board’s ability to craft sound foundation policy for tomorrow’s complex health care challenges.”
The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation is dedicated to improving the health of Michigan residents through the support of research and innovative health programs. BCBSM Foundation grant programs are conducted in Michigan by Michigan-based researchers and nonprofit organizations to address issues of quality and costs of care, access to care, and community health.
The BCBSM Foundation is the philanthropic affiliate of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, incorporated separately from BCBSM. The foundation is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. None of the foundation’s grant-making resources comes from BCBSM customer premium payments. The foundation was funded through an endowment from Michigan physicians in 1983 and from proceeds of an earlier prescription drug lawsuit settlement. For additional information, please visit the BCBSM Foundation Web site at http://www.bcbsm.com/foundation .
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation
CONTACT: Cheryl McDonald of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan,+1-313-225-8121, mediarelations@bcbsm.com