Date: 08/30/2022
AKRON, Ohio, Tuesday, August 30, 2022 – A $1 million leadership gift from Akron philanthropists Mike and Sheila Lewis will establish Summa Health’s first endowed directorship. This honor will be known as The Mike and Sheila Lewis Critical Care Directorship in honor of Dr. Michael Chandler, the division chief and medical director of Critical Care at Summa Health.
The directorship will focus on pulmonary medicine and support research, education and other key endeavors to ensure the continued advancement of Summa’s Critical Care Department. Dr. Chandler has been appointed the first holder of the position.
“We are grateful to Mike and Sheila Lewis for establishing the endowed directorship in critical care and the first endowed directorship at Summa Health,” said Dr. Cliff Deveny, Summa Health president and CEO. “This directorship will help bolster program development in critical care with a focus on pulmonology by supporting the work of our critical care providers and helping us to continue to train and inspire the next generation of physicians. The generosity of Mike and Sheila will have a profound and lasting impact on our health system for generations to come.”
Mike and Sheila Lewis have supported Summa Health with several meaningful gifts in honor of their physicians. In addition to pulmonary medicine, the Lewises have provided significant support for neurology research and education.
“Summa Health has benefited our family for decades, and we want to ensure that it will benefit our community for years to come,” said Mike Lewis. “It’s important to give back to the community. That is why we give to Summa Health.”
“Someone you know — a friend or family member — can benefit from the extraordinary care provided by Summa Health doctors like Dr. Chandler,” said Sheila Lewis.
Mike Lewis is a retired chief executive officer of the Akron Porcelain Plastics Company. Sheila Lewis began as a bedside nurse in the Akron City Hospital Orthopedics Department in the 1960s, and eventually became the head nurse under the direction of Dr. Walter A. Hoyt.
About Summa Health
Summa Health is one of the largest integrated healthcare delivery systems in Ohio. Encompassing a network of hospitals, community medical centers, a health plan, an accountable care organization, a multi-specialty physician organization, research and the Summa Health Foundation, we are nationally renowned for excellence in patient care and for exceptional approaches to healthcare delivery. Summa’s clinical services are consistently recognized by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (Magnet status), U.S. News and World Report, Healthgrades, Thomson Reuters and The Leapfrog Group. For more information, visit summahealth.org or find us on Facebook at facebook.com/summahealth, Twitter, twitter.com/summahealth, Pinterest, pinterest.com/SummaHealth and LinkedIn linkedin.com/company/summahealth.
Media Contact: Mike Bernstein
Phone: 234.312.5012
