Organization Names & Usage 

Michigan Medicine is our master brand, bridging the clinical, research and educational activities of the University of Michigan’s academic medical center.

When To Use

Use when referring to the overall organization, or to activities that span more than one of our missions — clinical care, research and education.

First & Second References

Michigan Medicine

Descriptive Reference

Michigan Medicine, the academic medical center of University of Michigan

Longer Reference

Michigan Medicine, which encompasses the clinical, research and educational efforts of University of Michigan Health and University of Michigan Medical School

The University of Michigan Medical School trains physicians, scientists and other health care professionals, and is one of the nation’s top biomedical research institutions. It includes the departments through which our faculty hold their academic appointments.

When To Use

Use when referring to educational or research activities, or departmental news and activities.

First References

University of Michigan Medical School, Michigan Medicine OR University of Michigan Medical School, part of Michigan Medicine

"Jones chose to continue his training at University of Michigan Medical School, Michigan Medicine."

"Jones chose to continue his training at University of Michigan Medical School, part of Michigan Medicine."

Second References

U-M Medical School, the medical school, U-M medical students, U-M

"The medical school's members make room for idea-sharing and feedback among students and staff."

Longer Reference

University of Michigan Medical School, the education and research arm of Medicine Medicine

"The simulated paging curriculum was developed at University of Michigan Medical School, the education and research arm of Michigan Medicine."

University of Michigan Health is how we refer to the clinical portion of our organization, including our hospitals, health centers, centers of excellence and all patient care programs. 

When To Use

Use when referring to patient care and care delivery.

First References

University of Michigan Health, Michigan Medicine OR University of Michigan Health, part of Michigan Medicine

"Jake was referred to see a specialist at University of Michigan Health, Michigan Medicine."

"Jake was referred to see a specialist at University of Michigan Health, part of Michigan Medicine."

Second References

University of Michigan Health, U-M Health

"U-M Health was the first to offer access to fetal interventions for patients like Claire."

Although U-M is usually pronounced “U of M” when spoken, this abbreviation should not be used in written text.

Descriptive Reference

University of Michigan Health, the clinical arm of Michigan Medicine

"The distinction was awarded to University of Michigan Health, the clinical arm of Michigan Medicine."

Statewide Clinical Network

In addition to the hospitals and health centers that are part of our academic medical center, the U-M Health statewide clinical network also includes two regional hospital systems.

The U-M Health regional hospitals in our statewide clinical network use hyphenation in their names to denote which system is being referred to. 

i.e. University of Michigan Health-Sparrow and University of Michigan Health-West

Note that when these names are being abbreviated for internal or secondary use, the hyphen is placed before the reference to the system, NOT between the U and M as is otherwise displayed in references to U-M Health.

i.e. UM Health-Sparrow and UM Health-West

This practice is consistent with the abbreviation used for the various U-M academic campuses, i.e. UM-Dearborn, NOT U-M-Dearborn. 

Michigan Medicine is home to a number of interdisciplinary programs, centers and institutes across all three parts of our mission. Consider whether the primary focus of the program, center or institute is primarily aligned with the clinical part of our mission, or with the research and education parts of our mission, when determining how to reference the program in spoken word or written text.

Hospitals and centers that provide clinical care are associated with University of Michigan Health.

Examples:

• University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital

• University of Michigan Health Frankel Cardiovascular Center

• University of Michigan Health Transplant Center

• University of Michigan Health Northville Health Center

Programs, centers and institutes that are primarily organized around research are associated with Michigan Medicine. In the case of some donor-named centers, due to the length of the center name, it can be acceptable to say "Michigan Medicine" either before OR after the center when used in the first reference.

Examples:

• Michigan Medicine Susan B. Meister Child Evaluation and Research Center

• Taubman Institute at Michigan Medicine

• Michigan Medicine Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center

Second References

Second references to any program, center or institute can refer to the program center or institute independently.

Example:

• "Rogel Cancer Center is the only provider in the state enrolling patients in the clinical trial."

Special Updates: D. Dan and Betty Kahn Health Care Pavilion

In 2025, U-M Health will open our new 264-bed, 690,000-square-foot hospital—The D. Dan and Betty Kahn Health Care Pavilion. Here are some tips to guide references to the pavilion.

• When speaking or writing to people outside of the university, use "University of Michigan Health D. Dan and Betty Kahn Health Care Pavilion" on first reference.

• When communicating internally, you can refer more directly to the "D. Dan and Betty Kahn Health Care Pavilion."

• On second reference, it is OK to use "Kahn Pavilion."

• When referencing the building without the Kahn name, in subsequent references after the full initial reference, use lowercase letters, i.e. "the pavilion." Alternatively, "hospital" or "new hospital" is OK.

• Acronyms or abbreviations are not acceptable. 

Other Notes

• The University of Michigan Medical School bylaws have specific provisions for the establishment of "Centers" and "Institutes." For more information about using the word "Center" or "Institute" to describe your program, refer to section 3.2 of the bylaws or consult your department administrator.

U-M is the approved shortened reference to “University of Michigan” across the institution. It can be used broadly as a shorthand way to refer to any part of the University of Michigan, including parts of the medical enterprise in second references within a story.

For example, U-M can be used in reference to a common noun (“U-M doctors” or “my training at U-M”).

U-M can also be used when character counts are a constraint (i.e. Twitter, etc).