Health care resource allocation topic of DeVos Medical Ethics Colloquy

National experts will give a presentation on health care resource allocation at the DeVos Medical Ethics Colloquy presented by Grand Valley State University.

“Ethics of Resource Allocation across the Lifespan" will take place October 26 at 5:30 p.m. in the Cook-DeVos Center for Health Sciences, 301 Michigan St. NE in Grand Rapids. The event is free and open to the public; register at www.gvsu.edu/colloquy. 

Presenters are Frederick Zimmerman, professor of health policy and management at UCLA, and Mildred Solomon, president and chief executive officer for the Hastings Center. The event will be moderated by the Rev. Julius Medenblik, president of Calvin Theological Seminary.

Zimmerman is an economist with a background in institutional and behavioral economics. He published one of the earliest agent-based models in economics, which showed how the poor managed assets so conservatively that they ended up with low returns. Since then his research has focused on ways in which economic status influences health outcomes.

Solomon is president of the Hastings Center, a world-renowned bioethics institute. She is also a professor at Harvard Medical School, and directs the school’s Fellowship in Medical Ethics. She has served on committees for the National Academies of Science, and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services’ Advisory Committee on Organ Transplantation.

Medenblik is beginning his fifth year as president of Calvin Theological Seminary. He started his career as an attorney in Florida in the 1980s and returned to school to receive a master's degree in divinity in 1995 from Calvin Theological Seminary. He founded New Life Christian Reformed Church in Illinois in 1996, and also served as Point Team Leader for Church Planting for Christian Reformed Church Home Missions.

Jean Nagelkerk, vice provost for Health, oversees the series. She said the community and Grand Valley students will benefit tremendously from hearing experts discuss the ethical issues medical professionals and society are facing. 

About the colloquy

The DeVos Medical Ethics Colloquy was established in 2005 by Richard and Helen DeVos in response to a need for a forum where topics of medical and ethical significance could be discussed under guidance from experts. Grand Valley became the host of this biannual medical ethics speaker series in June 2015, thanks to a gift from the Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation. The gift supports the continuation of the colloquy as part of the university’s efforts to provide outreach and education for students, the community and medical ethics centers worldwide. The series has tackled topics such as genetic testing, end-of-life care and health care reform.  

For more information, visit www.gvsu.edu/colloquy.