The nonprofit University Physician Group, the Wayne State University School of Medicine's faculty practice, has filed for chapter 11 protection and is seeking to get out of leases in suburban locations to concentrate on downtown Detroit, Crain's Detroit Business reported. The medical practice, which employs 873 people, says in court documents filed Wednesday and yesterday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Detroit that it plans to continue operating, move its corporate administrative functions to Midtown Detroit and focus on being the "premier academic clinical practice" for the Detroit Medical Center. "This is not a liquidation or a closure — quite the opposite. UPG will remain in operation and focused on delivering outstanding clinical care while supporting the academic mission of the WSU School of Medicine," UPG CEO Charles Shanley, M.D., said in a message to Wayne State employees. The filing comes several weeks after UPG reached a deal to continue its relationship with DMC, which is owned by the for-profit Tenet Healthcare Inc. The filing says that over the past decade UPG's number of physicians has declined by 50 percent, which has hurt clinical revenue and made its leased network of suburban offices untenable. It plans to use chapter 11 to suspend operations at all suburban sites, it says in court documents. The filing seeks bankruptcy court approval to reject the leases the practice no longer can support.
