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A Lifelong Legacy at UH Connor Whole Health

Nearly three dozen friends and supporters of UH Connor Whole Health have established the Françoise Adan, MD, Endowed Director in Connor Whole Health Leadership. Kathy and Jim Pender, Stephanie and Juan Antunez, Jerry Sue Thornton, PhD, the Connor family, and Lauren Rich Fine made lead gifts for this prestigious role. The inaugural position-holder will be David W. Miller, MD, LAc, Medical Director, Pediatric Integrative Medicine, UH Connor Whole Health, and Family and Child Life Services, UH Rainbow Babies and Children’s.

A New Chapter in Whole Health

At UH Connor Whole Health, healing takes many forms: the vibrant colors of art, the chorus of music, the calming voice of a caregiver, the quiet of meditation, the tension relief of acupuncture and massage. Caregivers and patients alike credit one leader with transforming UH Connor Whole Health into a fully integrated part of the health system and broadening the imagination of healing across UH. The Françoise Adan, MD, Endowed Director in Connor Whole Health Leadership celebrates its namesake’s vision of incorporating evidence-based whole health care with world-class medicine.

Françoise Adan, MD, Chief Whole Health and Well-Being Officer, Director, UH Connor Whole Health, and Christopher M. and Sara H. Connor Chair in Integrative Health, will retire at the end of this month.

Dr. Adan, an expert in meditation, stress management and resilience, and mind-body well-being, joined UH in 2009. She has led UH Connor Whole Health since its 2011 founding, made possible with a generous gift from Sara and Chris Connor. Starting with just 77 patients in its first year, UH Connor Whole Health has had significant annual growth as more UH caregivers have embraced whole health care and its benefits for patients. In 2024 alone, UH Connor providers delivered whole heath care via 65,000 patient visits and outreach to thousands of UH caregivers and community members.

“Much of these results are due to Dr. Adan’s dedication and leadership,” said Chris Connor, former CEO of The Sherwin-Williams Company and a longtime member and former chair of the UH Board of Trustees. “Her union of science and compassion has empowered so many of us to take charge of our health,” said Sara Connor, a trained occupational therapist and Reiki master who serves on the UH Connor Whole Health Leadership Council.

"This journey has been one of the great honors of my life,” said Dr. Adan. “I have full confidence that UH Connor will continue bringing new, evidence-based modalities to the healing and well-being of our patients."

The Work of Healing Continues

In February, Kristi Artz, MD, will join UH as Vice President of UH Connor Whole Health, also becoming the next Connor chairholder. Dr. Artz has served as Medical Director of Lifestyle Medicine at Corewell Health in Grand Rapids, Michigan since 2018. There, she led a robust lifestyle medicine program with a multidisciplinary team of advanced practice providers, health coaches, dietitians and chefs. Dr. Artz is board certified in Lifestyle Medicine and Emergency Medicine and is a Certified Specialist in Culinary Medicine.

The first caregiver to hold the newly established Adan chair will be David W. Miller, MD, LAc, Medical Director, Pediatric Integrative Medicine, UH Connor Whole Health, and Family and Child Life Services, UH Rainbow Babies and Children’s.

Dr. Miller joined UH in 2020 after 15 years offering integrative care in private practice. He brings a full repertoire of evidence-based integrative care, with expertise in mind-body practices and holistic and natural remedies. His pediatric integrative medicine program offers individual care and group medical visits focused on anxiety relief with music therapy and dysautonomia support with Tai Chi.

Dr. Miller was the founding chair of the American Society of Acupuncturists, now the primary national professional association of its field. With more than 20 years as an educator, he has developed curricula in integrative physiology and integrative pediatrics. His published work and research interests include acupuncture as well as implementation and dissemination. Dr. Miller’s background as a legislative director in Illinois brought extensive medical legislation and regulation experience.

“It is an honor to have Françoise’s ethos written right into my professional title,” said Dr. Miller, “and both a privilege and joy to draw upon the full scope of healing for our patients.”

Learn more about UH Connor Whole Health.